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THE HUMAN VOICE 



WOBKS BY THE SAME AUTHOB. 



Hydropathic Encyclopedia, $4 

The Hygienic Hand Book, - 2 

Sexual Physiology, - -2 

Uterine Displacements, 

Colored Plates, - 5 

'.Throat and Lungs, 

Digestion and Dyspepsia, - 1 

Mother's Hygienic Hand- 
book, - - - - 1 

A Set of Six Anatomical 



40 < Alcoholic Controversy, - 00 
00 Water Cure for the Million, 30 
00 True Healing Art, - 30 or 50 
Hydropathic Cook Book, $1 50 
00 Family Gymnasium, - 1 50 

25 * Home Treat. Sex. Abuse, - 50 
00 | The Bath— Its Uses, - 25 or 50 
\ Hygeian Home Cook Book, 25 
00 \ Hygienic Catechism, - - 10 

and Physiological Plates, $20. 



THE 



HUMAN VOICE 



ITS ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY, PATHOLOGY, 
THERAPEUTICS, AND TRAINING; 



KULES OF ORDER FOR LYCEUMS. 



BT 

R. T. TRALL, M.D., 

PRINCIPAL AND FOUNDER OF THE HYGEIO-THERAPEUTIC COLLEGE ; PROFESSOR 
OF INSTITUTES OF MEDICINE, AND AUTHOR OF NUMEROUS WORKS. 




NEW YORK: 
S. R. WELLS & COMPANY. 

737 BROADWAY. 
1876. 



T7 



COPYRIGHT, 1875, BY S. R. WELL3 & CO. 



PREFACE 



The object of this little work is to present, in a cheap 
and convenient form, the facts and principles applicable 
to the culture and nses of the Human Yoice, which are 
only to be found scattered through several large volumes, 
and to furnish Lyceums and Debating Clubs with a con- 
cise Code of Rules and Usages for the regulation of their 
proceedings. It is not expected nor intended to super- 
sede the more elaborate works on Elocution, which may 
be indispensable for the Orator and Teacher; but to 
furnish all who desire to read and speak well, and who 
must rely mainly on self -education, with a plain and in- 
telligible guide in theory and practice. 

r: t. t. 

Florence Hights, K. J., 1875. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I.— ANATOMY OF THE VOICE. 

PAGE 

Apparatus of Voice — The Thorax— Heart and Lungs— Ligaments of the 
Larynx — The Larynx Laterally — Muscles of the Larynx — Abdominal 
Muscles — Muscles of the Trunk — Muscles of the Trunk Laterally — 
Action of the Diaphragm — Range of the Human Voice — Bass and 
Tenor— Contralto and Soprano— Tone of Voice— Falsetto Voice, . 9 



CHAPTER II.— PHYSIOLOGY OF THE VOICE. 
Erectitude — Natural Spine — Vocal Cords — Pitch of the Tones — Volume 
of Voice — Character of Voice — Rationale of Respiration — Rationale 
of Sobbing and Laughter — Rationale of Speech — Vowel and Conso- 
nant Sounds — Whispering — Sighing — Ventriloquism — Speaking 
Automata — Rationale of Articulate Sounds — Distinctions of the Con- 
sonant Sounds, . 18 



CHAPTER III.— PATHOLOGY OF THE VOICE. 
Causes of Defective Voice— Spinal Miscurvature— Natural and De- 
formed Chest — Positions in Study — Positions in Standing — Sleeping 
with the Mouth Open — Lisping — Stammering — Hoarseness — Aphonia 
— Nasal Tone— Vailed Tone— Explosive Vocalization, . . 28 

CHAPTER IV.— THERAPEUTICS OF THE VOICE. 

Exercises to Improve Respiration — Walking — Slapping the Abdomen 

— Apparatus — Military Position — Rotating the Arms — Elbow Whirl — 

Chest Extension Exercises — Indian Club Exercises — Rack-boards and 

Bands — Exercises with Weights — Directions for Lispers and Stam- 



CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER V. -TRAINING OF THE VOICE. 

• PAGE 

Normal Positions — Declamation — Argument — Exhortation — Appeal — 
Controlling the Respiration — Full Breathing — Audible Breathing — 
Forcible Breathing — Sighing — Gasping — Panting— Management of 
the Voice— Regulation of Tones— Enunciation— Deportment, . . 41 

CHAPTER VI.— EXERCISES ON THE ELEMENTARY SOUNDS. 

Analysis of the Elementary Sounds — Analysis of the Sounds of the 
Letters — Exercises on the Vowel Sounds — Exercises on the Conso- 
nant Sounds — Exercises in Emphasis — Examples of Intonations — 
Examples of Waves or Circumflexes, 47 

CHAPTER VIL— SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 
To Range— Glory— Cato's Soliloquy— Our Honored Dead— Darkness- 
Curtain Lecture — Immortality — Advantages of Adversity — Morning 
—The Dilemma— Deity— The Death of Hamilton— The Stars— Public 
Virtue— Criticism — The Revolutionary Alarm— Sheridan's Ride— The 
Raven— The Bells — Christmas— The Tomahawk submissive to Elo- 
quence, 56 



THE HUMAN VOICE. 



CHAPTER I. 

ANATOMY OF THE VOICE. 

The special apparatus of the voice is the larynx, an 
arrangement of ligaments and muscles at the upper part 
of the windpipe (trachea). The quality of voice depends 
on the tension and approximation of the vocal cords ; its 
depth or fullness depends on the capacity of the chest, 
and its power on the associated action of all the respira- 
tory muscles. A brief exposition, therefore, of the struc- 
ture of the vocal and respiratory apparatus seems to be 
necessary as a basis for the intelligent training and proper 
exercise of the organs of music and speech. 

The foundation for a normal voice as well as for bodily 
and mental vigor, and, indeed, for good health, is a well- 
developed thorax, or framework of the chest. 

This is constituted of -the sternum, or breast-bone, in 
front, and the twelve pairs of ribs on the sides. The 
ribs are articulated behind with the twelve dorsal verte- 
brae of the spinal column. The trachea commences 
opposite the fifth cerrical vertebrse, and extends to the 
third dorsal, where it divides into the right and left 
bronchi, which pass to the right and left lung, and 
are subdivided and ramified throughout the substance 
of the lungs. The trachea and bronchial tubes are every- 

(9) 



10 ANATOMY OF THE VOICE* 

where lined with a mucous membrane, as is the mouth 
and larynx. Two-thirds of the anterior cylinder of the 

Fig. 1. 




THE THORAX. 

An anterior view of the thorax is represented in Fig. 1. 1. The manubrium. 
2. Body. 3. Ensiform cartilage. 4. First dorsal vertehra. 5. Last dorsal vertebra. 
6. First rib. 7. Head of first rib. 8. Its neck. 9. Its tubercle. 10. Seventh rib. 
11. Costal cartilages of the ribs. 12. Last two false ribs. 13. The groove along 
the lower border of each rib. 

trachea are composed of fifteen to twenty cartilaginous 
rings, which are conducive to' the vibrations of air in 
making trilling sounds. 

The thyroid gland (sometimes the seat of goitre, or 
bronchocele,) is situated upon the trachea above the ster- 
num ; it is divided into two lobes, one of which is placed 
on each side of the trachea. 

The lungs occupy the cavity of the chest on each side 
of the heart. They are conical in shape, tapering above, 
where they extend beyond the level of the first rib, and 



ANATOMY OF THE VOICE. 



11 



broad and concave below, where they rest on the convex 
surface of the diaphragm. The root or upper portion of 



Fig. 2. 




HEART AND LUNGS. 

C Fig. 2 represents the anterior aspect of the anatomy of the heart and lungs. 
1. Eight ventricle ; the vessels to the left of the number are the middle coronary 
artery and veins. 2. Left ventricle. 3. Eight auricle. 4. Left auricle. 5. Pul- 
monary artery. 6. Eight pulmonary artery. 7. Left pulmonary artery. 8. Ee- 
mains of the ductus arteriosus. 9. Aortic arch. 10. Superior cava. 11. Arteria 
innominata; in front of it is the right vena innominata. 12. Eight subclavian 
vein ; behind it is its corresponding artery. 13. Eight common carotid artery and 
vein. 14. Left vena innominata. 15. Left carotid artery and vein. 18. Left sub- 
clavian artery and vein, 17. Trachea. 18. Eight bronchus. 19. Left bronchus.. 
20, 20. Pulmonary veins; 18, 20, from the root of the right lung; and 7, 19, 20, the 
root of the left. 21. Upper lobe of the right lung. 22. Its middle lobe. 23. Its 
inferior lobe. 24 Superior lobe of left lung. 25. Its lower lobe. 

each lung, which retains the organ in position, comprises 
the pulmonary artery and veins, the bronchial tubes, 
the bronchial vessels, and the pulmonary plexuses of 
nerves. 



12 



ANATOMY OF THE VOICE. 



The minute anatomy of the larynx is shown in figs. 
3 and 4. 



Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the larynx, showing 
its ligaments. 1. Body of the os hyoides. 2. Its 
great cornu. 8. Its lesser cornu. 4. The ala of the 
thyroid. 5. The superior cornu. 6. Its inferior 
cornu. 7. Promum Adami. 8, 8. Thyro-hyoidean 
membrane; the opening near the posterior nume- 
ral transmits the superior laryngeal nerve and 
artery. 9. Thyro-hyoidean ligament, a. Epiglottis. 
b. Ilypo-epiglottic ligament, c. Thyro-epiglottic. 
d. Arytenoid cartilage, e. Outer angle of its base. 
/. Corniculum laryngis. g. Cuneiform cartilage. 
h. Superior thyro-arytenoid ligament, i. Chorda 
vocalis, or inferior thyro-arytenoid ; the elliptical 
space between the two thyro-arytenoid ; is the 
laryngeal ventricle, k. Cricoid cartilage. I. Late- 
ral portion of the crico-thyroidean membrane, m. 
Its central portion, n. Upper ring of the trachea, 
which is received within the ring of the cricoid 
cartilage, o. Section of the isthmus of the thyroid 
gland, p, p. The levator of the glandulae thyroi- 
dese. 




LIGAMENTS OF THE LARYNX. 



Fig. 4. 

Fig. 4 is a side view of the larynx, one ala of the thyroid 
cartilage being removed. 1. Remaining ala. 2. One of 
the arytenoid cartilages. 3. One of the cornicula laryngis. 
4. Cricoid cartilage. 5. Posterior crico-arytenoid muscle. 
6. Crico-arytenoideus lateralis. 7. Thyro-arytenoideus. 8. 
Crico-thyroidean membrane. 9. One half of the epiglot- 
tis. 10. Upper part of the trachea. 

The following description of the laryn- 
geal structures is copied from the " Hy- 
dropathic Encylopsedia : 

" The cartilages are : 1. Thyroid 
(shield-like), which consists of two lateral portions (alee) 
meeting at an angle in front, and forming the projecting 
part of the throat, called pomum Adami (Adam's apple). 
Each ala forms a rounded border posteriorly, which ter- 




ANATOMY OF THE VOICE. 13 

minates above in a superior cornu, and below in an infe- 
rior cornu. 2. Cricoid (like a ring), a circular ring, nar- 
row in front and broad behind, where it has two rounded 
surfaces, which articulate with the arytenoid cartilages. 
The oesophagus is attached to a vertical ridge on its pos- 
terior surface. 3. Two arytenoid (pitcher-like) ; trian- 
gular in form, and broad and thick below, where they 
articulate with the upper border of the cricoid; above 
they are pointed and prolonged by two small pyriform 
cartilages, called eornicula lary?igis, which form part of 
the lateral wall of the larynx, and afford attachment to 
the chorda vocalis and several of the articulating muscles. 
4. Two cuneiform ; small cylinders, about seven lines in 
length, and enlarged at each extremity ; they are attached 
by the lower end to the arytenoid, and their upper extrem- 
ity forms a prominence on the border of the aryteno- 
epiglottidean fold of membrane ; they are occasionally 
wanting. 5. Epiglottis ; shaped like a cordate leaf, and 
situated immediately in front of the opening of the 
larynx, which it closes when the larynx is drawn up be- 
neath the base of the tongue, as in the act of swallowing. 
The laryngeal cartilages ossify more or less in old age, 
particularly in the male. 

" The ligaments are : 1. Three thyro-hyoidean, which 
connect the thyroid cartilage with the os hyoides. 2. Two 
capsular crico-thyroid, which articulate the thyroid with 
the cricoid, and with their synovial membranes from the 
articulation between the inferior cornu and sides of the 
cricoid. 3. The crico-thyroidean membrane, a fan-shaped 
layer of elastic tissue, attached by its apex to the lower 
border of the thyroid, and by its expanded margin to 
the upper border of the cricoid and base of the aryte- 
noid ; above it is continuous with the lower margin of the 



14 ANATOMY OF THE VOICE. 

chorda vo calls. 4. Two capsular crico-arytenoid, which, 
connect those cartilages. 5. Two superior thyro-arytenoid, 
thin bands between the receding angle of the thyroid and 
the anterior inner border of each arytenoid ; the lower bor- 
der constituting the upper boundary of the ventricle of 
the larynx. 6. Two inferior thyro-arytenoid, the chordm 
vocales, which are thicker than the superior, and, like them, 
composed of elastic tissue. Each ligament, or vocal chord, 
is attached in front to the receding angle of the thyroid, 
and behind to the anterior angle of the base of the aryte- 
noid. The inferior border of the chorda vocalis is con- 
tinuous with the lateral expansion of the crico-thyroid 
ligament. The superior border forms the lower boun- 
dary of the ventricle of the larynx. The space between 
the two chordae vocales is the glottis or rima glottidis. 7. 
Three glosso-epiglottic, folds of mucous membrane con- 
necting the anterior surface of the epiglottis with the 
root of the tongue. 8. The hyo-epiglottic, an elastic 
band connecting the anterior aspect of the epiglottis with 
the hyoid bone. 9. The thryo-epiglottic, a slender elastic 
slip embracing the apex of the epiglottis, and inserted 
into the thyroid above the chordae vocalses. 

" The muscles are eight in number : five larger ones of 
the chordae vocales and glottis, and three smaller of the 
epiglottis. The origin, insertion, and use of each is ex- 
pressed by its name. They are the crico-thyroid, poste- 
rior and lateral crico-arytenoid, thyro-arytenoid, aryte- 
noid thyroepiglottic, and superior and inferior aryteno- 
epiglottic. The posterior crico-arytenoid opens the glot 
tis ; the arytenoid approximates the arytenoid cartilages 
posteriorly, and the crico-arytenoideus lateralis and thyro- 
arytenoidei anteriorly ; the latter also close the glottis me- 
sially. The crico-thyroidei are tensors of the vocal chords, 



ANATOMY OF THE VOICE. 15 

and with the thyro-arytenoidei, regulate their position 
and vibrating length. The remaining mnscles assist in 
regulating the tension of the vocal chords by varying the 
position of their cartilages. 

" The ayeriure of the larynx is a triangular opening, 
broad in front and narrow behind ; bounded in front by 
the epiglottis, behind by the arytenoid muscle, and on the 
sides by the folds of the mucous membrane. The cavity 
is divided into two parts by an oblong constriction pro- 
duced by the prominence of the vocal chords ; the part 
above the constriction is broad above and narrow below, 
and the part beneath is narrow above and broad below, 
while the space included by the constriction is a narrow, 
triangular fissure, the glottis, bounded on the sides by the 
chordae vocales and inner surface of the arytenoid carti- 
lages, and behind by the arytenoid muscle ; it is nearly an 
inch in length, somewhat longer in the male than female. 
Immediately above the prominence caused by the chorda 
vocalis, and extending nearly its length on each side of 
the cavity of the larynx is the ventricle of the larynx, an 
elliptical fossa which serves to isolate the chord. 

" The mucous membrane lines the entire cavity of the 
larynx, its prominences and depressions., and is continuous 
with that of the mouth and pharynx, which is prolonged 
through the trachea and bronchial tubes into the lungs. 
In the ventricles of the larynx the membrane forms a 
csecal pouch, called sacculus laryngis, on the surface of 
which are the openings of numerous follicular glands, 
whose secretion lubricates the vocal chords." 

The abdominal muscles are important parts of the res- 
piratory machinery; comparing the lungs to a bellows, 
these muscles constitute the handles, and unless they are 
well developed and in vigorous condition, the voice be 



16 



ANATOMY OF THE VOICE. 



correspondingly feeble and imperfect. The relation of 
these muscles to the thorax directly, and to the lnngs and 
vocal apparatus indirectly, is shown in figs. 5 and 6. 



Eig. 5. 




MUSCLES OF THE TRUNK. 



In Fig. 5 are seen the muscles of the trunk anteriorily. The superficial layer 
is seen on the left side, and the deeper on the right. 1, Pectoralis major. 2. Del- 
toid. 3. Anterior border of the latissimus dorsi. 4. Serrations of the serratus 
magnus. 5. Subclavius of the right side. 6. Pecioralis minor. 7. Coracho-bra- 
chialis. 8. Upper part of the biceps, showing its two heads. 9. Coracoid process 
of the scapula. 10. Serratus magnus of the right side. 11. External^ intercostal. 
12. External oblique. 13. Its aponeurosis ; the median line to the right of this 
number is the linea alba; the flexnous line to the left is the linea semilunaris ; the 
transverse lines above and below the number are the lineae transversa. 14. Pou- 
parfs ligament. 15. External abdominal ring ; the margin above is called the 



ANATOMY OF THE VOICE. 



17 



superior or internal pillar; the margin below the inferior or external pillar; the 
curved intercolumnar fibres are seen proceeding upward from Pouparfs ligament 
to strengthen the ring. The numbers 14 and 15 are situated upon the fascia lata of 
the thigh; the opening to the right of 15 is called saphenous. 16. "Rectus of the right 
side. 17. Pyramidalis. 18. Internal oblique. 19. The common tendon of the 
internal oblique and transversalis descending behind Pouparfs ligament to the 
pectineal line. 20. The arch formed between the lower curved border of the inter- 
nal oblique and Pouparfs ligament beneath which the spermatic cord passes, and 
hernia occurs. 



Fig. 6 is a side view of the muscles of the 
trunk. 1. Costal region of the latissimus 
dorsi. 2. Serratus magnus. 3. Upper part 
of external oblique. 4. Two external inter- 
costals. 5. Two internal intercostals. 6. 
Transversalis. 7. Its posterior aponeurosis. 
8. Its anterior. 9. Lower part of the left 
rectus. 10. Eight rectus. 11. The arched 
opening where the spermatic cord passes 
and hernia takes place. 12. The gluteus 
maximus, and medius, and tensor vaginaj 
f emoris muscles invested by fascia lata. 

The oblique muscles flex the 
thorax on the pelvis ; either 
acting singly, twists the body 
to one side. Either transver- 
salis mnscle by contracting di- 
minishes the size of the abdo- 
men, and both acting together 
constrict its general cavity. 
The recti muscles, and the 
pyramidalis pnll the thorax 
forward when acting together, muscles op the trunk laterally. 
All of the abdominal muscles are auxiliary to respiration, 
and as they constitute the chief forces in expelling the air 
from the lungs, their relation to voice is obvious. As 
respiratory muscles they are aided by the muscles of the 
loins and back; the united action of all these muscles 
compresses the abdomen in all directions, as may be no- 
ticed in prolonged coughing or severe vomiting. 




CHAPTEE II. 



PHYSIOLOGY OF THE VOICE. 



Physical uprightness is as im- 
portant for a public speaker as 
moral rectitude is for a private 
citizen. Other things being equal, 
every person will have a power to 
please and persuade, influence and 
direct the minds of others, through 
the media of speech and music, 
measurable generally by the in- 
tegrity of the whole bodily organi- 
zation, and especially by the erec- 
titude of the spinal column (Fig. 
7), without which the extensive 
and complicated machinery of res- 
piration and vocalization cannot 
act harmoniously. 

The vocal apparatus has been 
compared to a stringed, tubular, 
and reeded instrument, as the 
violin, flute, and clarionet ; it has 
many properties in common with each, and, indeed, with 
all musical instruments ; yet it differs in many respects 
from either. No mechanical contrivance can rival the 
variety and delicacy of action of the living structure, 
(18) 




NATURAL SPINE. 



PHYSIOLOGY OF THE YOICE. 



19 



hence the human voice must ever be incomparably 
superior, as a musical instrument, to all human inventions. 
A good reader, a good speaker, or a good singer never 
fails to attract the multitudes. 

The lower vocal cords are chiefly instrumental in the 
production of sound. If the upper cords are removed, 
voice continues, but is rendered feeble ; if the lower cords 
are destroyed, voice is entirely lost. 

The tones of voice depend on the varying tension of 
the vocal cords. In producing tones, the ligaments of 
opposite sides are brought into approaching parallelism 
with each other, by the approximation of the points of 
the arytenoid cartilages ; in the intervals they are again 
separated, and the opening between them, termed rima 
glottidis, assumes the form of the letter Y, as represented 
in Fig. 8. 

Fig. 8 exhibits the vocal ligaments as 
seen superiorly. G-, E, H. Thyroid car- 
tilage. N, F. Arytenoid cartilages. S, 
V. S. V. Vocal cords or ligaments. H, 
X. Crico-arytenoideus lateralis. V, k, 
f . Right thyro-arytenoidens. N, 1, N, 1. 
Crico-arytenoidei postici. B, B. Crico- 
arytenoid ligament. 

The muscles which stretch 
or relax the vocal ligaments 
are alone directly concerned 
in the voice; the muscles 
which open and close the 
glottis, regulate the amount 
of the air inspired and ex- 
pired. 

The pitch of the tones is regulated by the tension of 
the vocal cords ; its volume or intensity depends on the 
capacity of the lungs, length of the trachea, flexibility of 



Fig. 8. 




LAETNS KR03I ABOVE. 



S$ PHYSIOLOGY OF THE VOICE. 

the vocal cords, and the force with which the air is ex- 
pelled from the lungs. The character of the voice is 
dependent on the confirmation of the pharynx, month, and 
nasal cavities. In the male the larynx is more prominent 
and the vocal cords are longer than in the female, in the 
proportion of three to two, which renders the voice in 
most cases an octave lower. 

The free play of the diaphragm is an important factor 
in the volume of voice. To understand this matter fully 
it must be recollected that the movements of the respira 
tory apparatus are partly voluntary, for the purposes of 
being subservient to voice and speech, and partly invol- 
untary, for the purposes of aerating the blood. The lungs 
themselves are entirely passive in respiration. When the 
walls of the chest are drawn asunder, and the thorax 
dilated by the action of the respiratory muscles, the at- 
mospheric air rushes into the air-ceils, distending them 
in proportion to the dilatation of the thorax, and keeping 
the surface of the lungs accurately in contact with the 
walls of the chest in all their movements. But if air be 
admitted into the cavity of the pleura, outside of the 
lungs, as by a penetrating wound, the lungs cannot be 
fully distended by inspiration, but will remain partially 
collapsed, although the thorax expands, for the reason 
that the pressure from without balances that within the 
air-cells. Fig. 9 illustrates the action of the diaphragm 
in respiration. 

The diaphragm, by extending the ribs and pressing 
down the abdominal viscera, is the principal agent in in- 
spiration. In a deep inspiration, the little muscles be- 
tween the ribs (intercostals) assist in "the expansion of 
the chest by spreading the ribs, aided also to some ex- 
tent by the muscles of the thorax generally. Expiration, 



PHYSIOLOGY OF THE VOICE. 



21 



as already stated, is mainly accomplished by the con- 
traction of the abdominal mus- 
cles, which, by drawing down 
the ribs and compressing the 
viscera np against the relaxed 
diaphragm, diminish the cavity 
of the thorax from above. 

Says Marshall {Outlines of 
Physiology): "The human vocal 
apparatus is analogous to a wind 
instrument with a double mem- 
branous tongue, the bronchi and 
trachea representing the wind- 
tube, the vocal cords the double 



Fig. 9 is a side view of the chest and abdo- 
men in respiration. T. Cavity of the chest. 
2. Cavity of the abdomen. '6. Line of direc- 
tion for the diaphragm when relaxed in ex- 
piration. 4. Line of direction wben con- 
tracted in inspiration. 5, 6. Position of the 
front walls of the chest and abdomen in in- 
spiration. 7, 8. Their position in expiration. 




ACTION OF THE DIAPHRAGM. 



membranous tongue, and the parts above the glottis the 
attached tube. For the production o£ vocal sounds, even 
the feeblest, more air must pass through the glottis than 
in respiration ; and this current of air must undergo 
penidic interruptions in its passage through that fissure. 
The vocal cords, moreover, are made more or less tense, 
and are approximated so as to be parallel to each other, 
and the fissure of the glottis is converted into a fine chink- 
like opening. The escape of the air propelled upward 
through the trachea being thus retarded, the margins of 
the vocal cords are forced upward, and slightly separated 
from each other ; the elasticity of' the cords is now called 
into play, so that they counteract the force of the impulse 



22 PHYSIOLOGY OF THE VOICE. 

communicated to them, and, by a downward recoiling 
movement, again narrow the glottis. In this manner, the 
oscillations into which the vocal cords are thrown by the 
escape of the air driven from the trachea, or wind-tube, 
are communicated to the less tense air above the glottis, 
and throw this into vibrations. By means of the laryn- 
geal ventricles, or sacs, placed above the vocal cords, these 
latter are kept free, so that their vibrations are easily 
accomplished. It has also been supposed by some, that 
the superior vocal cords maintain the strength and qual- 
ity of the sounds, by entering into simultaneous and 
synchronous vibrations. This is contrary to Seiior Garcia' s 
observations with the laryngoscope ; but he found that, 
in elevation of the pitch of the voice, whether natural 
or falsetto, the superior vocal cords approached each other, 
so as to narrow the part of the vocal tube above the glottis." 
The ordinary range of the human voice, from the low- 
est male to the highest female voice, is nearly 4 octaves. 
^ g The lowest note, E (Fig. . 10), is 

„ j caused by 80 vibrations per second, 

m^ioTe. and the highest note, C (Fig. 11), 

— P — . by 1,024 vibrations per second. But 

^ ' — = in exceptional cases, the range may 

^ ^j — : be nearly 5J octaves, the lowest note, 

"g- 11 - a F (Fig. 12), being caused by 42, and 

j^ l the highest note, A (Fig. 13), by 

— 1,708 vibrations. 

— In ordinary speech, the range of 



i 



f 



Fig. 12. f. voice is usually about half an octave ; 

but in singing, the compass of the 
_ voice in the same individual generally 
~ extends over 2 octaves. In rare cases 
" it has extended over 3£ octaves. It 



Fig. 13. A. 



PHYSIOLOGY OF THE VOICE. 23 

has been calculated that no less than 240 different states of 
tension of the vocal cords are producible at will, each 
degree of tension modifying the sound of the note in sing- 
ing, or of the tone in speaking, and all this in a voice of 
ordinary range. Celebrated singers can produce a still 
greater number of intermediate tones. " Madame Mara," 
says Marshall, " could effect as many as 2,000 changes." 

The bass and tenor varieties of voice are characteristic of 
the male, and the contralto and the soprano, otherwise 
known as second treble and first treble, of the female sex. 
The subdivision of voice called baritone, is intermediate 
between the tenor and bass, and the mezzo-soprano is in- 
termediate between the soprano and contralto. The 
lowest note of the contralto is about an octave higher than 
the lowest note of the bass voice ; and the highest soprano 
about an octave higher than the highest tenor. 

The personal quality or peculiar tone of voice is due to 
the general confirmation of the air-passages ; but in both 
sexes, more especially in the male, two series of notes can 
be produced, which have been distinguished into the true 
or chest notes, and the falsetto or head notes. The chest 
notes are called those of the natural voice, and are fuller, 
stronger, and more resonant, and are the lower notes of 
the voice ; the falsetto notes are softer, less clear, and 
have a humming sound resembling the harmonic notes of 
strings. The middle notes of the scale can be produced 
by either the chest or the head voice. Some persons can 
speak or sing with either voice so well marked as to seem 
to be endowed with two distinct voices. Various theories 
have been advanced to account for the falsetto voice ; but 
the observations of Garcia seem to prove that, during the 
production of the falsetto notes, the glottis is more 
elongated and widened, and that only the edges of the 



24: PHYSIOLOGY OF THE VOICE. 

vocal cords are approximated, thus offering little resistance 
to the air, whilst, in the natural or chest voice, a certain 
depth of the surface of each cord is made to approach the 
other, and to undergo vibrations. 

In certain strong mental emotions, the muscles of the 
voice act spasmodically, as in sobbing and laughter, and' 
sometimes closing the glottis entirely for a longer or 
shorter time, as in some convulsive diseases. 

Speech is the utterance of articulate sounds. The voice 
or vowel sounds are made with a nearly fixed position of 
the vocal organs ; but as those sounds are modified by the 
action of the tongue, lips, etc., they are called articulate 
or consonant sounds. The vowel sounds are specially ex- 
pressive of the feelings, while the consonant sounds are 
specially related to thought. This is why the language 
of music is so largely constituted of vowel sounds, the 
difference between music and speech consisting simply in 
the prolongation of the vowel sounds. As the language 
of all animals expresses much more of the affectional than 
of the intellectual mind, they have correspondingly little 
occasion for consonant sounds. 

As vocalization depends on laryngeal vibrations, in 
whispering, vowels are articulated simply by the action of 
the mouth and fauces, all sound being produced above 
the larynx. Sighing is another example of sound pro- 
duced above the larynx ; if the vocal cords are called into 
vibratory action, the sigh becomes a groan. Most of the 
letters of the alphabet can be articulated with very little 
laryngeal action during inspiration. 

Many sounds, as of smacking, clicking, kissing, and 
whistling, are generated in the mouth, and produced in- 
dependently of laryngeal action. 

Ventriloquism consists essentially in the imitation of 



PHYSIOLOGY OF THE VOICE. 25 

peculiar sounds. Its rationale is not well understood by 
physiologists. Magendie supposed it to be produced in 
the larynx. Some have thought it was produced simply 
by articulating while drawing in the breath. According 
to Muller, the sounds peculiar to ventriloquism may be 
made, after taking a deep inspiration, so as to occasion 
the protrusion of the abdominal viscera by the descent of 
the diaphragm, and maintaining the diaphragm in its de- 
pressed or contracted condition, by speaking during a 
very slow expiration, performed only by the lateral parie- 
ties of the chest, through a very narrow glottis. 

Speaking automata have only succeeded in imitating 
the separate sounds of the voice ; they can never combine 
them successfully so as to imitate the language of the 
vital organism. 

The following lucid explanation of the various vowal 
and consonant sounds is copied from "Marshall's Physi- 
ology : " 

"Articulate sounds are divided into vowels and con- 
sonants. The true vowels y or open sounds, as they are 
called, are generated in the larynx. They are merely un- 
interrupted vocal tones, variously modified in their out- 
ward passage, by alterations in the shape of the parts of 
the oral cavity through which they pass ; thus, in utter- 
ing the pure vowel sounds, a, a, e, o, u, pronounced re- 
spectively as in the words far, fate, ell, old, and in French 
words containing the u, one and the same sound produced 
by the vibrations of the vocal cords is converted into five 
different sounds, by changes in the position of the tongue, 
and by the gradual prolongation of the cavity of the 
mouth, by means of the lips ; the most natural of these 
vowel sounds, or the one most easily uttered, is the broad 
a. In the same manner the diphihong sound, i, ei, eu, 
2 



26 PHYSIOLOGY OF THE VOICE. 

and the sounds of y and w, at the beginning of words 
are vocal tones, modified by further changes in the shape 
and form of the mouth. 

" Consonants, or shut sounds, are entirely formed in 
the parts above the larynx, and are so named, because 
most, if not all of them, can only be sounded consonantly, 
that is, with another sound or vowel. They require, for 
their production, a shutting or valve-like action to take 
place, either between the lips, as in pronouncing the let- 
ters o, p, and rn / or between the upper teeth and lower 
lip, as in the case of f and v * or between the tongue and 
the palate, as d, g hard, c hard, k, q, t, r, I, and n, or be- 
tween the tongue and the teeth, as in the production of 
hissing sounds, such as o soft, or s and z. The com- 
pound articulate sounds, &sj, or g soft, ch soft, ch guttu- 
ral,^, sh, th, ng and x, are produced by modifications, or 
combinations of some of the other pure consonant sounds. 
The aspirate h is produced by an increased expiratory 
effort, made with the mouth open, before a vowel or 
other sound. 

" Those consonants which are produced by, or con- 
nected with, a sudden stoppage of the breath at a certain 
point, the opening leading from the pharynx to the nose 
being quite closed, and all the respired air passing through 
the mouth, are called explosive consonants. They are 
of two kinds : the simple explosive consonants, h, d, and g 
hard ; and the aspirate explosives, p, t, Jc / these, when ut- 
tered, are unaccompanied by a vocal sound, that is, they are 
attended with an intonation of the voice. Those conso- 
nants which can be produced without a complete stop- 
page of the breath previous to their utterance, are called 
continuous / some of these sounds are developed by the 
passage of the air, with a degree of friction through the 



PHYSIOLOGY OF THE VOICE. 27 

month; in this way the consonants v,f, s, and z, are pro- 
duced by expiration throngh the nose only, as ng, m, and 
n. In uttering the letters I and r, the air escapes through 
the nose and mouth: in pronouncing the first of these, 
the air escapes at the sides of the tongue ; in pronounc- 
ing the sound, the tongue undergoes a vibrating move- 
ment. All the continuous consonants can be pronounced 
with a vocal sound, except the aspirate Ay and some of 
them can be pronounced either with or without vocal in- 
tonation. Consonants have also been named according 
to the seat of their production ; thus p is called a labial, t 
a palatal, n a nasal, and the Gaelic ch a guttural conso- 
nant ; but this classification is exceedingly artificial and 
incorrect; for the greater number of articulate sounds 
are the result of the conjoined action of the mouth, lips, 
palate, and upper part of the air-passage." 



CHAPTEE III. 



PATHOLOGY OF THE VOICE. 



Fig. 14. 



The most common causes of imper- 
fect respiration and defective voice are 
distortions of the spinal column, and 
contracted chests. No person with 
either deformity can have a power- 
ful voice, whatever may be its other 
qualities. Fig. 14, Spinal Miscurva- 
tuee, is a representation of a very com- 
mon form of spinal distortion, in which 
nearly all of the abdominal viscera are 
more or less displaced, and the respira- 
tory muscles unbalanced and undevel- 
oped. By contrasting this figure with 
that of the natural spine in the preced- 
ing chapter (fig. 6), the disastrous con- 
sequences of a crooked spinal column 
may be realized at a glance. 

A single glance at the bones of the 
chest (fig. 1), is sufficient to show the 
spinal jtiscTTBVATTrcE. injurious effects on the respiratory sys- 
tem directly, and the vocal organs indirectly of every 
thing that interferes in the least with the full expansion 
of the lungs in breathing ; and the relation of the dia- 
phragm to respiration (fig. 9), explains the horrid con- 
sequences of tight -lacing. That this subject may be 
(28) 




PATHOLOGY OF THE YOTCE. 



29 



folly comprehended, let its place the normal development 
of this vital part of the human being in contrast with the 
abominably abnormal condition so common in the society 
of fashionable American wornen. 



Fig. 15 




NATERAL WAIST. NATURAL THORAX. CONTRACTED "WAIST. FASHIONABLE "WAIST. 

A sufficient commentary on this fashionable folly and 
pernicious vice, so far as the immediate objects of this 
work are concerned, is the simple statement of the fact, 
that no female who deforms her body with tight-lacing 
ever becomes distinguished as a reader, speaker, or actor, 

■Fig. 19. Fig. 20. 





CORRECT POSITION IN STUDY. 



MISPOSITION IN STEDT. 



30 



PATHOLOGY OF THE VOICE. 



although a majority of them have attained distinction as 
chronic invalids and the mothers of feeble offspring. 

All crooked bodily positions, by unbalancing the whole 
muscular system, enfeeble the breathing apparatus and 
impair the voice. Malpositions and spinal distortions are 
often acquired in the primary schools, because of the 
unanatomical construction of the miserable benches on 
which the suffering scholars are educated to " sit still " 
several hours each day. Figs. 19 and 20 illustrate this 
subject. 

The malposition acquired in the sitting posture in 



Fig. 21. 




Fig. 22. 




STANDING EBECT. 



MALPOSITION IN STANDING. 



PATHOLOGY OF THE VOICE. 31 

childhood, is manifested in the standing postnre in adult 
life, as represented in fig. 22, contrasted with the perpen- 
dicular position, fig. 21. 

Although these deformities, which are almost always 
acquired in early life, can never be entirely overcome, 
much benefit may be derived from a persistent course 
of vocal culture, in connection with a proper system of 
gymnastic exercises ; and if the laryngeal structures are 
favorably organized, such persons may become reputable 
speakers. 

The habit of sleeping with the mouth open in early life, 
and especially in infancy, has a very injurious effect on 
the breathing and vocal organs ; and not only this, but it 
tends to distort the jaw-bones and deform the teeth. 
Parents and nurses should be very careful to check this 
habit in its incipiency, or the damage may become irreme- 
diable. The imperfections of speech termed lisping and 
stammering are not attributable to organic defects, but to 
errors of action of the vocal apparatus. In lisping the 
tongue cleaves to the roof of the mouth, or is pushed 
against the upper teeth ; stammering is occasioned by a 
spasmodic action of the glottis, tongue, or lips, which is 
always aggravated by any mental apprehension or embar- 
rassment. 

Hoarseness of voice is usually occasioned by a swelling 
or congestion of the mucous membrane which lines the 
mouth, nose, trachea, or bronchial tubes. When the 
laryngeal portion of the mucous membrane is extremely 
congested, voice is entirely lost, as happens in some cases 
of quinsy, diphtheria, and croup, and in the later stage of 
laryngeal consumption. A chronic thickening of the 
mucous membrane of the laryngeal sacs or ventricles some- 
times occasions permanent hoarseness, or, complete loss of 



32 PATHOLOGY OF THE VOICE. 

voice. Paralysis of any one or more of the muscles of 
articulation may cause defect or loss of voice. 

A common cause of defective voice, and sometimes of 
complete aphonia, is a want of association or co-operation 
in the action of the abdominal muscles and diaphragm in 
vocalization — a condition which may be occasioned by 
bodily malpositions, disease, or an improper use of the 
respiratory and vocal organs. 

The nasal tone of voice is due to an approximation of 
the arches of the palate, more than to a closure of the 
nostrils. 

The vailed tone of voice is occasioned by lowering the 
larynx so that it is covered by the entire pharynx, the 
base of the tongue being approximated to the palate, and 
the voice resounding in the upper part of the pharynx 
beneath the skull. 

The explosive voice, which is due to the respired air 
being all passed out at the mouth, is always aggravated by 
a feeble co-operation of the abdominal muscles with the 
vocal effort. In this case the speaker becomes hoarse with 
any prolonged vocal effort. The explosive voice, though 
harsh and loud, is never heard at a great distance. 



CHAPTEE IV. 

THEEAPEUTIGS OF THE VOICE. 

Premising- that, in all conditions of infirmity or dis- 
ease affecting the voice, the general health is the first of 
all things to be attended to, this chapter will be devoted 
to such, exercises and remedies as are specially applicable 
to defects of the vocal apparatus. In all cases it is im- 
portant to harmonize as much as possible the action of all 
the muscles directly or indirectly concerned in respiration 
and voice ; and just to the extent that this is accomplished 
will the disabilities or deformities be remedied, weak 
muscles and organs invigorated, obstructions removed, 
congestions reduced, and vocalization improved. 

One of the best exercises is rapid walking over an un- 
even surface, or up and down stairs, keeping the mouth 
shut. The exercise should be commenced with modera- 
tion, and gradually increased in rapidity as can be borne 
without panting or difficulty of breathing. Those who 
are dyspeptic can improve the effect of this exercise by 
slapping the abdominal muscles as recommended in the 
author's work on " Digestion aud Dyspepsia." 

Among the " modern improvements " introduced into 
many health institutions, more or less useful for our pur- 
poses, are the health-lift, vibrator, dumb-bells, wands, 
rings, clubs, and other apparatus and machinery, each hav- 
ing special adaptation to some one or more of the many 

(33) 



34: 



THERAPEUTICS OF THE VOICE. 



abnormal conditions prevalent. But for the benefit of 
those who are obliged to depend on self-treatment, a few 
illustrations, specially adapted to the respiratory and vocal 
apparatus, are copied from the author's " Illustrated 
Family Gymnasium," to which the reader is referred for a 
greater variety of illustrations. But in all exercises with- 
out apparatus the principle of bodily erectitude must be 
kept steadily in view or nothing will be gained. All 
bending of the body must be at the hip-points, and in 
lying, sitting, standing, walking, or running, playing, or 
Fig 23. Fig. 24. working, no position must be 

maintained that bends the trunk 
of the body or in any manner 
restricts the play of the lungs, 
or compresses the abdominal 
viscera. The proper hint on this 
subject is afforded in the fami- 
liar calisthenic illustrations (Figs. 
23 and 24). 

Keeping in mind the proper 
military " attention" under all cir- 
cumstances, the circular exercise 
of the arms will be found an ad- 
mirable one for bringing into 




ATTENTION. 



HILITAEY 
POSITION. 



gentle and equal action the whole respiratory system 
(Figs. 25 and 26). 

This exercise is performed by extending the arms for- 
ward at right angles with the body, the palms of the 
hands being turned toward each other, and then rotating 
the arms alternately, then both together on the shoulder 
joint. Count one at each rotation, and turn the hands, 
during the movement, as far as possible both ways, so as 
to secure the rolling motion of arms and joints. After 



THERAPEUTICS OF THE YOICE. 



35 



the movement has been performed half-a-dozen times in 
one direction, reverse it, and make as many movements 



Fi°r. 25. 



Fisr. 26. 





Figs. 25 and 26.— Exeecise for the Whole Respiratory System. 

in the opposite direction ; keep the palm of the hand down 
whenever the arm is raised. 

The elbow whirl (fig. 27) may be per- 
formed as a variation of the above, and for 
very feeble persons, especially those troubled 
with shortness of breath, it is a good pre- 
paratory exercise. Place the elbows on the 
hips, and then swing the forearms in a circle. 

The " circular " and " whirl " motions may 
be performed with increased effect while 
walking up hill or on an uneven surface. 

The "lateral body swing" (fig. 28) is also 
an admirable preparatory exercise, and may 
vary the elbow whirl. This movement con- 
sists in bending the body from side to 
side, the arms being extended. It should be elbow whirl. 




36 



THERAPEUTICS OP THE VOICE. 



performed very slowly at first, counting in a prolonged 
monotone to correspond with the bodily motions. 

Fig. 28. For those whose chests are con- 

tracted, who are round or stoop- 
shouldered, or who are predis- 
posed to consumption, the " chest 
extension" exercise is especially 
to be recommended (figs. 29, 30, 
and 31). 

These exercises comprehend 
several movements of the arms, 
all of which are intended to 
stretch the muscles and ligaments 
more especially of the upper part 
of the chest. Hold the arms at 
right angles with the body, and 
then throw the arms and hands backward and forward 
with considerable force, counting at each backward 
motion. Then from the same commencing position, vary 




IATERAL MOVEMENT. 



Fig. 29. 





Fig. 31. 




CHEST EXTENSION EXERCISES. 



THERAPEUTICS OP THE VOICE. 



37 



the exercise by striking the elbows together behind (fig. 
31). 

For the benefit of those who have the ordinary calis- 
thenic apparatus, the following familiar illustrations are 
given : 

The Indian club exercise is calculated to develop power- 
fully the muscles of the arms and chest. Figs. 32, 33, 
34, and 35 show the principal positions so far as club ex- 
ercises especially affect the respiratory system. 



Fig. 32. 



Fig. 33. 



Fig. 34. 



Fig. 35. 




INDIAN CLUB EXERCISES. 



Weights and dumb-bells may be employed to intensify 
the effect of any of the exercises which are usually per- 
formed without apparatus ; and in a variety of such other 
ways as any one, understanding the object in view, can 
readily extemporize. Figs. 36 and 37 are examples. 

Backboards and bands, which, require no special explana- 
tion, help make a variety of useful apparatus. Figs. 38 and 



38 



THERAPEUTICS OF THE VOICE. 



39 represent some of the usual methods of exercising 
with them. 



Fig. 36. 




Fig. 3?. 




EXERCISES WITH WEIGHTS. 



Fig. 38. 



The impediments of speech termed lisping and stam- 
mering, can generally be remedied 
=a without difficulty by a persevering 
course of vocal training, and reason- 
able attention to hygienic conditions. 
The fact that those who lisp and 
stammer in speaking, usually articu- 
late well enough in sing- Fig. 39. 
ing, suggests the proper 
remedial plan. They 
should aim to get entire 
mental control of the 
vocal apparatus by en- 
unciating all of the ele- 
mentary sounds of the 
language very slowly, 

EXERCISES WITH BACKBOARDS. 





THERAPEUTICS OF THE VOICE. 39 

deliberately, and distinctly, until the habit of convulsive 
action of the affected muscles is overcome. The stam- 
merer should always speak with an expiring breath, and 
with the mouth well opened ; a cure can generally be 
accomplished in a few months, sometimes in a few 
weeks. Indeed, a proper and persevering course of vocal 
gymnastics will almost certainly remedy the worst kind 
of stammering. 

The first thing for the stammerer to do is to get com- 
plete control of his breathing apparatus. This can be 
done by means of the exercises mentioned in the succeed- 
ing chapter, especially those recommended by Professor 
Zachos, combined with the practice of slow, deep, full, 
and prolonged respirations. After this is accomplished, 
exercises on the vowel sounds, as explained hereafter, 
will be in order, constituting what M. Chevril, of France, 
who has acquired a reputation for the successful treat- 
ment of vocal impediments, terms the "gymnastics of 
articular phonation." When these vowel sounds are so 
thoroughly mastered that they can be distinctly enunci- 
ated forward and backward (thirty-two sounds) with a 
single expiration, and without any appreciable tendency 
to spasmodic action, the consonant sounds should be prac- 
ticed on until all of them can be enunciated without the 
least inclination to stammer. Lastly, all of the elemen- 
tary sounds of our language (forty-four), as explained in 
the ensuing chapter, should be practiced on until every 
sound is made without difficulty. Says M. Chevril : " The 
whole plan consists in gymnastically educating the organs 
of speech, the excellent results being due not so much to 
actual muscular work as to the precision with which the 
practice is carried out. The success depends on an effort 
of the will on the part of the patient to reproduce with 



40 THERAPEUTICS OF THE VOICE. 

the utmost precision a particular sound. The will of the 
teacher must take the place of the patient's wiL, as the 
latter is unable to regulate the movements dictated by it." 
The principle above indicated may be readily compre- 
hended when it is considered that hiccough, which is a 
spasmodic action of some of the respiratory muscles, can 
always be arrested instantly by a strong effort of the will 
properly directed. It is only necessary to fix the atten- 
tion on some subject or object intensely ; for example, 
the patient may determine to speak the word hiccough, 
during the next " attack," or paroxysm, and then watch 
intently for the first indication of it. If his attention is 
intense enough he will not hiccough again. 



CHAPTER V. 



TRAINING OF THE VOICE. 



In all exercises having in view the improvement of the 
vocal apparatus, the first consideration as already stated, 
is a correct bodily position. It should be easy, uncon- 
strained, and in all respects natural, allowing the freest 
play to every muscle concerned in respiration as well as 
vocalization. Figs. 40, 41, 42, and 43 represent some of 
the normal positions in public speaking. 



PRESERVATION OF THE VOICE. 

The rules for ensuring the durability and best working 
condition of the voice are few, simple, and mainly nega- 
tive. 

1. Be temperate in all things — rand .this means, avoid 



Pfe. 40. 



Fig. 41. 




DECLAMATIOH. 




42 TRAINING OF THE VOICE. 

gluttony and dissipation, and be moderate in all sensuous 
indulgences. 

2. Do not make violent vocal efforts soon after a full 
meal ; nor exert the voice at its highest pitch long at a 

Fig. 42. Pig. 43. 





EXHORTATION. 



time. Never use the voice except very moderately when 
affected with hoarseness. 

3. Butter, nuts, old cheese, sugar, candies, salted meats, 
acid, liquors, ice-cream, very cold drinks, and very hot 
drinks, are especially injurious to the voice. 

CONTROLLING THE RESPIRATION. 

Among the essentials of good reading or speaking is a 
perfect command of the breath, so that all of the expired 
air can be used to the utmost advantage in vocalization. 
To acquire this condition : 

1. Read or declaim in a loud whisper. This exercise 
is very fatiguing at first, and should be practiced but a 
few minutes at a time, until habit renders it easy. 

2. Read or declaim in a low, strong key, passages which 



TRAINING OF THE VOICE. 43 

require a firm and dignified enunciation, gradually pro - 
ceeding to more spirited, and finally to the most impas- 
sioned sentences. 

3. The following respiratory exercises, recommended 
by Prof. Zachos, are admirable for enabling the speaker 
to express the deeper emotions : 

Full Breathing. — Stand in an erect position, with the 
arms akimbo, the hands resting on the hips ; slowly draw 
in the breath until the chest is fully expanded ; emit it 
with the utmost slowness. 

Audible Breathing. — Draw in the breath as in full 
breathing, and expire it audibly, as in the prolonged 
sound of the letter k. 

Forcible Breathing. — Fill the lungs, and then let out 
the breath suddenly and forcibly, in the manner of an 
abrupt and whispered cough. 

Sighing. — Fill suddenly the lungs with, a full breath, 
and emit as quickly as possible. 

Gasping. — With a convulsive effort infiate the lungs ; 
then send forth the breath more gently. 

Panting. — Breath quickly and violently, making the 
emission of breath loud and forcible. 

MANAGEMENT OF THE VOICE. 

The proper management of the voice comprises due 
attention to tones, accent, emphasis, pronunciation, articu- 
lation, and pauses. The following rules should be ob- 
served : 

1. Commence speaking a little under the ordinary 
pitch of voice. 

2. The principal part of a discourse should be delivered 
in the ordinary pitch of voice ; the exordium should be 
very deliberate and below the ordinary pitch, and the 



44 TRAINING OP THE VOICE. 

peroration more impassioned and above the ordinary 
pitch. 

THE REGULATION OF TONES. 

Nothing is more awkward in public speaking than a 
misadaptation of tones -to the occasion. They may be 
classified as follows : 

1. The whisper, intended to be audible only to the 
nearest person. 

2. The murmur, or low tone, adapted to close conver- 
sation. 

3. The ordinary pitch, suited to general conversation. 

4. The high or elevated pitch, adapted only to earnest 
argument or powerful appeals. 

5. The extreme or highest pitch, appropriate only in 
the expression of violent passions. 

ENUNCIATION. 

Guard against the common fault of reading or speak- 
ing with the mouth insufficiently opened, or the teeth 
nearly closed. If this habit has been acquired, overcome 
it as speedily as possible. This may be done by reciting 
occasionally with a gag placed between the teeth ; it may 
be made of card-board or a thin piece of wood. Com- 
mence with a gag half an inch wide, and gradually in- 
crease it to an inch and a half. 

Be careful to articulate every syllable of every word. 
The general fault of readers, speakers, and especially 
singers, is in failing to articulate unaccented syllables. 
The rule of pronunciation is to regard every syllable as 
equally important, giving each its proper sound, and 
never slurring nor blending them together. 



TRAINING OF THE VOICE. 45 

DEPORTMENT. 

Under this head a few words on the countenance, 
manner, and gesture may be proper. 

Nothing tends more to secure the sympathies of the 
audience than a quiet, self-possessed deportment. Never 
come before an audience, nor approach the speaker's desk 
in a hurried, bustling manner. Be deliberate and natural. 
Be right, then act yourself. Look over the audience, but 
do not stare at it. Avoid all awkward and uncouth expres- 
sions of countenance, as pouting, stretching, or twisting 
the lips ; do not bite, smack, nor lick the lips ; in enunci- 
ating emphatic words or sentences, do not pull down the 
corners of the mouth and expose the teeth as in grinning ; 
the mouth should be used much more than the lips in 
forcible speaking. 

In all proper gesticulation the movements of the body 
correspond with and express, in the language of signs, 
the thoughts and feelings of the speaker. This is done 
normally by young children, and by all persons who 
have not been perverted by miseducation. The ten- 
dency of the teachings of most of our schools is to exag- 
geration, by which the student acquires an artificial and 
affected mannerism. It is propriety, not quantity, of ges- 
ture that should be studied. The person who forgets 
himself in his subject seldom errs in gesticulation, while 
the person who puts himself before his subject always 
does. The question for the speaker, who would become 
proficient in gesture, to ask himself, is not, " What do the 
hearers think of me ?" but " How do I present the sub- 
ject?" If the speaker successfully communicates his 
thoughts and feelings to others, he will most certainly do 
himself justice in manner. 

In standing, rest alternately on each foot, and prin- 



46 TRAINING OF THE VOICE. 

eipally on the heel, changing position frequently. Keep 
the feet always flat on the floor, avoiding' all tendency to 
rest on the toes or on one edge of either foot. In walking 
the stage, turn by placing one foot behind the other, thus 
at all times inclining to face the audience ; never make 
the awkward blunder of turning one foot around the 
other in front, thus bringing the back, to the audience. 
The grace of oratorical action consists in the freedom and 
simplicity of those gestures which illustrate the subject. 

On this subject the reader who aims at excellence will 
do well to read Pittenger's " Oratory, Sacred and Secular," 
which gives a history of some of the leading orators, 
preachers, and lecturers of the present day, and of the 
preceding century. 



CHAPTER VI. 

EXERCISES ON THE ELEMENTARY SOUNDS. 

Those who would excel as speakers, readers, or singers, 
should be able to enunciate, distinctly and .rapidly, all of 
the primary or elementary sounds which are represented 
by written language. The twenty-six letters of the English 
alphabet represent forty-four distinct sounds, as explained 
in the following table : 

ANALYSIS OF THE ELEMENTARY SOUNDS. 

There are forty-four sounds of the English language, 
represented by the twenty-six letters of the alphabet and 
their combinations, as in the following table : 

1. pa, long, as in ale, pale, national, plaintiff, amen. 

2. J a, grave, or Italian, as in ah, far, papa, mamma. 

3. I a, broad, or German, as in all, draw, daughter, fraught. 

4. I a, short, as in at, hat, attack, malefactor. 

5. b, name sound, as in be, bite, bright, tub, hubbub 
G. r c, sound of s, as in cent, city, cornice, precipice. 
7. J c, sound of k, as in cap, come, occult, ecliptic. 

8. 1 c, sound of z, as in suffice, discern, sacrifice. 
9. I c, sound of sh, as in ocean, Phocion, Cappadocia. 
10. | d, name sound, as in ride, did, daddy, double-headed. 
• 11. Id, sound of t, as in faced, watched, dipped, escaped. 

12. _} e, long, as in eel, peel, creed, reveal, precede. 

13. (e, short, as in ell, expel, ever-extended. 

14:. \ f, name sound, as in if, rife, fife, faithful, tariff. 
15. ( f, sound of v, as in of, hereof, whereof, thereof. 

(47) 



48 EXERCISES ON THE ELEMENTARY* SOUNDS. • 

16. f g, soft or name sound, as in gem, ginseng, logical. 

17. <g, hard, as in go, give, gig, Brobdignag. 

18. (g, sound of gh, as in rouge, protege, mirage. 

19. h, name sound, as in hale, high, Hannah. 

20. ) i, long, as in isle, lilac, oblige, iodine. 

21. (i, short, as in in, pin, king, distinctive. 

22. ], name sound, as in lo, lily, dalliance, lullaby. 

23. m, name sound, as in map, mummy, amalgamate. 

24. In, name sound, as in nine, ninny, nobleman, manikin. 

25. I n, sound of ng, as in bank, ingot, congress, angular. 

26. ( o, long, as in old, osier, trophy, sofa, atrocious. 

27. \ o, close, as in ooze, douceur, accoutre, troubadour. 

28. (o, short, as in on, combat, obelisk, holyday. 

29. p, name sound, as in pill, pippin, panter, platter. 

30. \ r, smooth, as in war, afar, tartar, murderer. 

31. (r, trilled, as in rough, railroad, recreation. 

32. ru, long, as in mute, astute, educate, judicature. 

33. < u, short, as in up, mum, ultra, numbskull. 

34. ui, full, as in pull, cruel, Prussian, Brutus. 

35. w, name sound, as in woo, bewail, wigwam, wormwood. 

36. jx, name sound, as in axe, coxcomb, luxury, example. 

37. ( x, sound of gz, as in exist, exhibit, exuberant. 

38. y, name sound, as in ye, yoke, yewyaw, yesterday. 

39. ch, name sound, as in charm, church, chickering, Ohimborazo. 

40. ( tli, aspirate, as in thin, think, thankless, prothonotary. 

41. (tli, vocal, as in than, that, beneath, withhold, wherewithal. 

42. wh. name sound, as in what, wherefore, whirligig, whimpering. 

43. oi or oy, diphthongs, or digraphs, as oil, boy, recoil, employ. 

44. ou or ow, diphthongs, or digraphs, as in our, bow, gouty, 
trowel. 

The student should master all of these sounds, and practice on 
them until he can repeat them with facility backward or forward ; 
after which he may, with advantage, exercise on the different 
sounds or groups of sounds, with the view of developing the 
power of particular portions of the vocal and respiratory apparatus. 

ANALYSIS OF THE SOUNDS OF LETTERS. 

In order to ascertain the exact sound represented by any 
letter, character, or combination of letters, the student 
has only to analyze a word in which it occurs. The pro- 



' EXERCISES ON THE ELEMENTARY SOUNDS. 49 

cess is a very simple one, yet many teachers have never 
learned it. 

Ask the scholar in the primary school, " How many 
sounds has b ?" and he may answer promptly, " B has but 
one sound, as in bite." Yery well ; then ask him, " What 
is that sound of b, as in bite ?" and he may not be able to 
tell you. 

To ascertain what the sound of b is, and to be able to 
make it, pure and simple, he has only to analyze, vocally? 
any word or syllable containing the letter. It is more 
convenient for new beginners to take a word commencing 
with the letter, " as in bite." Let him spell and pronounce 
all the letters in the usual manner — b-i-t-e, bite. Then 
spell and pronounce all except the last letter, e — b-i-t, bit. 
The i being long, as in isle, the pronunciation of bite is pre- 
cisely the same without the terminal e as with it ; hence 
the scholar discovers that e is silent in that word. Next 
let him spell and pronounce the word, omitting the last 
two letters, t und e — b-i, bi. He now learns that i has its 
long sound in that word ; if it were short it would be 
sounded like i in hit. Lastly let him sound the word 
omitting the last three letters. He will then enunciate 
the one sound of b, as in bite ; and a little attention to the 
vocal organs will show him precisely how the sound of b 
is made. 

The process of analysis is now completed ; and by ob- 
serving the position and action of the lips, he learns why 
the letter b belongs to the category of labial or lip sounds, 
its pronunciation, as well as that of m and p, requiring 
a closure of the lips. 

By the application of this key the student can readily 
ascertain the sound of any letter or character. 

Another similar and still more simple method is, to 



50 EXERCISES ON THE ELEMENTARY SOUNDS. 

select a word beginning with the letter or character the 
sound of which is to be ascertained ; commence the pro- 
nunciation of the word, but stop the effort instantly with 
the first sound which the ear recognizes ; this will be the 
pure sound by itself, whether vocal or aspirate. 

Thus, if the student begin to pronounce the names, 
Cicero and Cato, and the words, this and thin, and inter- 
rupts the effort with the first appreciable noise, he will 
learn that c in Cicero has the hissing sound of s, and c in 
Cato the hard sound of k ; while th in the word this, 
has a compound vocal sound, and th in thin, a compound 
aspirate or breath sound. 

EXERCISES ON THE VOWEL SOUNDS. 

There are sixteen vowel sounds in our language, in- 
cluding the diphthongs ; they are found in the order of our 
alphabet in the following words : ale, ah, all, at, eel, ell, 
isle, ill, old, ooze, on, use, up, full, oil, how. The enuncia- 
tion of these vowel sounds, distinct from that of the conso- 
nant sounds, in reading, speaking, and singing, is one of 
the best exercises for acquiring flexibility of the articu- 
lating muscles, and elasticity of the vocal cords ; also for 
bringing into vigorous co-operative action those respira- 
tory muscles which are most immediately concerned in 
the production of the lower tones of voice. They should 
be pronounced forward and backward until they can be 
repeated several times with a single respiration, thus : 

ale, ah, all, at, eel, ell, isle, ill, old, ooze, on, use, up- 
full oil, how, a, a, a, a, e, e, i, i, o, o, o, u, u, w, oi, ow. 

Reversely, 

ow, oi, u, u, u, o, o, o, i, i, e, e, a, a, a, a, how, oil, full, 
up, use, on, ooze, old, ill, isle, ell, eel, at, all, ah, ale. 

This exercise may be advantageously varied by em- 



EXERCISES ON THE ELEMENTARY SOUNDS. 51 

ploying only the short vowel sounds in the same manner. 

at, ell, ill, on, up — up, on, ill, ell, at, a, e, i, o, u — u, o, i, 
e, a. 

Reading by the vowel sounds alone, is an exceedingly 
useful exercise for the articulating muscles, and may 
serve to " vary the entertainment." ~No better example for 
practice can be found than Hamlet's advice to the players. 

Speak the speech, I pray you, as / pronounced it to you ; trippingly 
e e e ,i a u, aioou io u; i i i 

on the tongue. But if you mouth it, as many of our players do, I had 
o e u. ui vl ou i,a aioou ae o,ia 

as lief the town-crier had spoke my lines. And do not saw the air too 
aeeoutea o ii.a ooa e a o 

much with your hand; but use all gently; for in the very torrent, 
u i u a ; u vl & e i ; o i eeio«, 

tempest, and, as I may say, whielwind of your passion, you must 
<? e , a , a i a a , i i o uau, uu 

acquire and beget a temperance that may give it smoothness. Oh! it 
aia ceaeea a a i # i o e . o i 

offends me to the soul to hear a robustious periwig-pated fellow, "tear a 
oo eo e o oe aouiueii aeeo, aa 

passion to tatters, to very rags, to feplit the ears of the groundlings. 



EXERCISES ON THE CONSONANT SOUNDS. 

There are seventeen vocal and eleven aspirate sounds in 
the English language ; consonants are also distinguished 
into simple, of which there are thirteen, and compound, 
of which there are fifteen. 

Vocal. — b, as in bite ; c, as in discern ; 

d, as in dome ; f , as in thereof ; g, as in 

gem ; g, as in go ; g, as in menagerie ; 1, as 
consonants. -{ in line ; m, as in mamma ; n, as in not ; n, 

as in clank ; r, as in jar ; r, as in bright ; 

w, as in wist ; x, as in excite ; y, as in youth ; 

th, as in thee. 



52 



EXERCISES ON THE ELEMENTARY SOUNDS. 



Aspirate. — c, as in cent ; c, as in cap ; c, 
as in gracious ; d, as in embraced ; f , as in 
fit ; h, as in hand ; p, as in pop ; x, as in 
extant ; eh, as in chance ; th, as in thin ; 
wh, as in whine. 

Simple. — b, as in bib ; c, as in circle ; c, 
as in Connecticut ; d, as in day ; d, as in 
tripp'd ; f, as in foe ; g, as in give ; h, as in 
hope ; 1, as in live ; m, as in man ; n, as in 
ten ; p, as in poppy ; r, as in more. 

Compound. — c, sound of z, as in suffice ; 
c, sound of sh, as in judicial ; f, sound of 
v, as in hereof ; g, soft, as in ginger ; g, 
sound of zh, as in tongue ; n, sound of ng, 
as in Frank ; r, rough or trilled, as in crash ; 
w, name sound, as in wool ; x, sound of ks, 
as in excel ; x, sound of gz, as in example ; 
y, name sound, as in yarn ; ch, sound of 
tch, as in much ; th, soft, or aspirate, as in 
theme; th, vocal, as in thou; wh, name 
sound, as in when. 
Every consonant sound should be distinctly recognized 
bind enunciated, until the whole list of twenty-eight can 
be repeated forward and backward with a single respira- 
tion. Exercises on the consonant sounds are calculated 
to promote rapidity and accuracy in the action of the 
tongue, lips, and mouth. 

The following words represent the consonant sounds 
in the order heretofore mentioned : bob, cent, come, suf- 
fice, ocean, ride, dipped, rife, of, gem, go, mirage, hale, 
lo, man, nine, bank, pin, war, rough, wo, axe, exist, yoke, 
charm, thin, than, what. 

By analyzing these words in the manner already ex- 



EXERCISES ON THE ELEMENTARY SOUNDS. 53 

plained, the sound represented by each letter or combina- 
tion of letters will be readily ascertained. 

EXERCISES IK" EMPHASIS. 

Stress. — The first three, and the last two verses, or 
volumes ; not the three first and the two last ; there can 
be only one first thing. 

Quantity. — Eoll on, thou dark and deep blue ocean — 
roll ! Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain. Hail ! 
■ — universal Lord. 

Expulsive Stress. — Aim at nothing higher until you can 
read and speak deliberately, clearly, distinctly, and with 
the appropriate emphasis. 

Stress and Higher Pitch. — O man, tyrannic lord ! how 
long — how long, shall prostrate nature groan beneath your 
rage ! 

Prolongation and Monotone. — I appeal to you — O ye 
hills and groves of Alba, and your demolished altars ! I 
call you to witness ! — and thou — O holy Jupiter ! 

Rhetorical Pause. — "Will all great IsTeptime's ocean wash 
this blood — clean — from my hands ? JN"o, these, my hands, 
will rather the multitudinous sea incarnadine, making 
the green — one red. 

Change of the Seat of Accent. — Temperance and virtue 
raise men above themselves to angels ; intemperance and 
vice sink them below themselves to the level of brutes. 

shouting-. 

Charge ! Chester ! charge ! on Stanley, on ; 

Liberty, freedom — tyranny is dead; 
Run hence ; proclaim it in the streets — 

The combat deepens ! on, ye brave I 



54 EXEKCTSES ON THE ELEMENTARY SOUNDS. 



EXAMPLES OF INTONATIONS. 

Rising. — Are you desirous of becoming a good reader, 
speaker, and singer ? Then learn and practice the prin- 
ciples herein taught and demonstrated. 

Falling. — A mind properly disciplined to submit to a 
small present evil, to obtain a greater distant good, will 
often reap victory from defeat and honor from repulse. 

Rising and Falling. — To whom the goblin, full of 
wrath, replied : Art thou traitor angel % Art thou he 
who first broke peace in heaven, and faith till then un- 
broken ? Back to the punishment — false fugitive ! 

The man who is in the daily use of ardent spirits, if 
he does not become a drunkard, is in danger of losing his 
health and character. 

EXAMPLES OF WAVES OR CIRCUMFLEXES. 

Rising. — The love of approbation — produces excellent 
effects on men of sense ; a strong desire for praise in weak 
minds conduces to little else than vanity. 

Falling. — It is not prudent to trust your secrets to a 
man who can not keep his own. If you had made that 
affirmation, I might perhaps have believed it. 

Combination. — Mere hirelings and time-servers — are 
always opposed to improvements and originality : so are 
tyrants — to liberty and republicanism. 

CADENCE. 

Ye nymphs of Solyma, begin the song; 

To heavenly themes sublimer strains belong. 

Such honors Ilion to her lover paid, 

And peaceful slept the mighty Hector's shade. 



EXERCISES ON THE ELEMENTARY SOUNDS. 55 



EXAMPLES OF DYNAMICS. 

Loud. — With, mighty crash the noise astounds ; amid 
Carnarvon's mountains rages loud, the repercussive roar ; 
and Thule bellows through her utmost isles. 

Bough. — The tempest growls; the unconquerable 
lightning struggles through, ragged and fierce, and — 
raging, strikes the aggravating rocks. 

SOFT. 

Soft roll your incense, herbs, and fruits, and flowers 
Ye softer floods, that lead the humid maze 
Along the vale. Breathe your still song 
Into the reaper's heart. 

SMOOTH. 

Perfumes as of Eden flowed sweetly along, 
And a voice as of angels enchantingly sung. 

And the smooth stream in smoother numbers flowed. 

Harsh. — On a sudden, open fly with impetuous recoil 
and jarring sound the infernal doors, and on their groan- 
ing hinges grate harsh thunder. 

Forcible. — ISTow storming fury rose, and clamor, such 
as heard in heaven, till now, was never ; arms on armor 
clashing, brayed horrible discord. 

Harmonious. — As earth asleep, unconscious lies ; effuse 
your mildest beams, ye constellations, while your angels 
strike, amid the spangled sky, the silver lyre. 

Strong. — Him the Almighty power hurled headlong, 
flaming from the ethereal skies, with hideous ruin and 
combustion down to bottomless perdition. 



CHAPTEE VII. 

SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 

The student who aims at excellence in speaking or 
writing slionld carefully study, and become familiar with, 
the spirit of the masters of elocution and composition. 
He will profit more in studying well, practicing thor- 
oughly, on a single production from one of their pens, 
than by memorizing and declaiming a hundred indiffer- 
ent compositions by second-rate authors. Booth, Jeffer- 
son, Salyini, and Cushman, by mastering the characters of 
Hamlet, Rip Yan Winkle, Othello, and Meg Merrilies, 
can have a profitable field of action for a life-time in 
playing those characters alone. One thing well done, in 
elocution as in other vocations, prepares the way for 
doing other things well, and leads the way to honor and 
prosperity. 

In the following selections the masters of language and 
of oratory are represented, and their productions may not 
be excelled for ages. The selections are arranged with 
the view to public declamation as well as private exercise. 

TO RANOE. 

Strike home, strong-hearted man ! down to the root 
Of old oppression sink the Saxon steel. 
Thy work is to hew down. In God's name, then, 
Put nerve into thy task. Let other men 
(56) 



SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 57 

Plant, as they may, that better tree, whose fruit, 
The wounded bosom of the church shall heal, 
Be though the image-breaker. Let thy blows 
Fall heavily as the Suabian's iron hand, 
On crown or crosier, which shall interpose 
Between thee and the weal of Father-land. 
Leave creeds to closet idlers. First of all, 
Shake thou all German dream-land with the fall 
Of that accursed tree, whose evil trunk 
Was spared of old by Erf art's stalwart monk. 
Fight not with ghosts and shadows. Let us hear 
The snap of chain-links. Let our gladdened ear 
Catch the pale prisoner's welcome, as the light 
Follows thy axe-stroke, through his cell of night. 
Be faithful to both worlds ; nor think to feed 
Earth's starving millions with the husks of creed. 
Servant of Him whose mission high and holy 
Was to the wronged, the sorrowing, and the lowly, 
Thrust not His Eden promise from our sphere, 
Distant and dim beyond the blue sky's span; 
Like him of Patmos, see it, now and here, — 
The New Jerusalem comes to man ! 
Be warned by Luther's error. Nor like him, 
When the routed Tuton dashes from his limb 
The rusted chain of ages, help to bind 
His hands, for whom thou claim'st the freedom of the 
mind! 

GLORY. 

1. The crumbling tombstone and the gorgeous mauso- 
le'um, the sculptured marble, and the venerable cathe- 
dral, all bear witness to the instinctive desire within us 
to be remembered by coming generations. But how 
short-lived is the immortality which the works of our 
hands can confer ! The noblest monuments of art that 
the world has ever seen are covered with the soil of 
twenty centuries. The works of the age of Pericles lie 
3* 



58 SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 

at the foot of the Acropolis in indiscriminate ruin. The 
plow-share turns up the marble which the hand of 
Phidias had chiseled into beauty, and the Mussulman 
has folded his flock beneath the falling columns of the 
temple of Minerva. 

2. But even the works of our hands too frequently sur- 
vive the memory of those who have created them. And 
were it otherwise, could we thus carry down to distant 
ages the recollection of our existence, it were surely 
childish to waste the energies of an immortal spirit in 
the effort to make it known to other times, that a being 
whose name was written with certain letters of the alpha- 
bet, once lived, and flourished, and died. Neither sculp- 
tured marble, nor stately column, can reveal to other ages 
the lineaments of the spirit ; and these alone can embalm 
our memory in the hearts of a grateful prosperity. 

3. As the stranger stands beneath the dome of St. 
Pawl's, or treads, with religious awe, the silent aisles of 
Westminster Abbey., the sentiment, which is breathed 
from every object around him, is, the utter emptiness of 
sublunary glory. The fine arts, obedient to private affec- 
tion or public gratitude, have here embodied, in every 
form, the finest conceptions of which their age was capa- 
ble. Each one of these monuments has been watered by 
the tears of the widow, the orphan, or the patriot. 

4. But generations have passed away, and mourners 
and mourned have sunk together into forgetfulness. 
Th.e aged crone, or the smooth-tongued beadle, as now he 
hurries you through ailes and chapel, utters, with meas- 
ured cadence and unmeaning tone, for the thousandth 
time, the name and lineage of the once honored dead ; 
and then gladly dismisses you, to repeat again his well- 
conned lesson to another group of idle passers-by. 



SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 59 

5. Such, in its most august -form, is all the immortality 
that matter can confer. It is by what we ourselves have 
done, and not by what others have clone for us, that we 
shall be remembered by after ages. It is by thought 
that has aroused my intellect from its slumbers, which 
has " given lustre to virtue, and dignity to truth," or by 
those examples which have inflamed my soul with the 
love of goodness, and not by means of sculptured marble, 
that I hold communion with Shakespeare and Milton, 
with Johnson and Burke, with Howard and Wilberforce. 

Dr. Wayland. 
cato's soliloquy. 

1 It must be so — Plato, thou reasonest well! 

Else, whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire, 

This longing after immortality? 

Or whence this secret dread, and inward horror, 

Of falling into naught? Why shrinks the soul 

Back on herself, and startles at destruction? 

'Tis the divinity that stirs within us ; 

'Tis Heaven itself that points out a hereafter, 

And intimates eternity to man. 

2 Eternity ! — though pleasing, dreadful thought ! 
Through what variety of untried being, 

Through what new scenes and changes must we pass ! 
The wide, the unbounded prospect lies before me; 
But shadows, clouds, and darkness rest upon it. 
Here will I hold. If there's a Power above us, — 
And that there is, all Nature cries aloud 
Through all her works, — He must delight in virtue ; 
And that which He delights in must be happy. 
But when? or where? This world was made for Caesar. 
I'm weary of conjectures, — this must end them. 

[Laying his hand on his sword. 

3 Thus am I doubly armed. My death and life, 
My bane and antidote, are both before me. 



60 SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 

This in a moment brings me to my end ; 
But this informs me I shall never die. 
The soul, secure in her existence, smiles 
At the drawn dagger, and defies its point. 
The stars shall fade away, the sun himself 
Grow dim with age, and Nature sink in years ; 
But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth, 
Unhurt amid the war of elements, 
The wreck of matter, and the crush of worlds. 

Addison, 
our honored dead. 

1. How bright are the honors which await those who 
with sacred fortitude and patriotic patience have endured 
all things that they might save their native land from 
division and from the power of corruption ! The hon- 
ored dead ! They that die for a good cause are redeemed 
from death. Their names are gathered and garnered. 
Their memory is precious. Each place grows proud for 
them who were born there. 

2. There is to be, ere long, in every village and in 
every neighborhood, a glowing pride in its martyred 
heroes. Tablets shall preserve their names. Pious love 
shall renew their inscriptions as time and the unfeeling 
elements decay them. And the national festivals shall 
give multitudes of precious names to the orator's lips. 
Children shall grow up under more sacred inspirations, 
whose elder brothers, dying nobly for their country, left 
a name that honored and inspired all who bore it. Or- 
phan children shall find thousands of fathers and mothers 
to love and help those whom dying heroes left as a legacy 
to the gratitude of the public. 

3. Oh, tell me not that they are dead — that generous 
host, that airy army of invisible heroes ! They hover as 
a cloud of witnesses above this nation. Are they dead 



SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 61 

that yet speak louder than we can speak, and a more uni- 
versal language ? Are they dead that yet act ? Are they 
dead that yet move upon society j and inspire the people 
with nobler motives and more heroic patriotism ? 

4. Ye that mourn, let gladness mingle with your tears. 
He was your son ; but now he is the nation's. He made 
your household bright : now his example inspires a thou- 
sand households. Dear to his brothers and sisters, he is 
now brother to every generous youth in the land. Be- 
fore, he was narrowed, appropriated, shut up to you. 
Now he is augmented, set free, and given to all. He has 
died, from the family, that he might live to the nation. 
Not one name shall be forgotten or neglected; and it 
shall by-and-by be confessed, as of an ancient hero, that 
he did more for his country by his death than by his 
whole life. 

5. Neither are they less honored who shall bear through 
life the marks of wounds and sufferings. Neither epau- 
lette nor badge is so honorable as wounds received in a 
good cause. Many a man shall envy him who henceforth 
limps. So strange is the transforming power of patriotic 
ardor, that men shall almost covet disfigurement. Crowds 
will give way to hobbling cripples, and uncover in the 
presence of feebleness and helplessness. And buoyant 
children shall pause in their noisy games, and with lov- 
ing reverence honor them whose hands can work no 
more, and whose feet are no longer able to march except 
upon that journey which brings good men to honor and 
immortality. 

6. O mother of lost children ! set not in darkness nor 
sorrow whom a nation honors. O mourners of the early 
dead ! they shall live again, and live forever. Your sor- 
rows are our gladness. The nation lives, because you 



62 SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 

gave it men that loved it better than their own lives. 
And when a few more days shall have cleared the perils 
from around the nation's brow, and she shall sit in un- 
sullied garments of liberty, with justice upon her fore- 
Mad, love in her eyes, and truth upon her lips, she shall 
not forget those whose blood gave vital currents to her 
heart, and whose life, given to her, shall live with her 
life till time shall be no more. 

7. Every mountain and hill shall have its treasured 
name, every river shall keep some solemn title, every 
valley and every lake shall cherish its honored register ; 
and till the mountains are worn out, and the rivers forget 
to flow, till the clouds are weary of replenishing springs, 
and the springs forget to gush, and the rills to sing, shall 
their names be kept fresh with reverent honors, which 
are inscribed upon the book of National Eemembrance ! 

H. W. Beechek. 
DARKNESS. 

1. I had a dream, which was not all a dream. 
The bright sun was extinguished, and the stars 
Did wander, darkling, in the eternal space, 
Rayless and pathless, and the icy earth 
Swung blind and blackening in the moonless air. 
Morn came, and went — and came, and brought no day, 
And men forgot their passions, in the dread 
Of this their desolation ; and all hearts 
Were chilled into a selfish prayer for light. 
And they did live by watch-fires ; and the thrones, 
The palaces of crowned kings, the huts, 
The habitations of all things which dwell, 
Were burnt for beacons : cities were consumed, 
And men were gathered round their blazing homes, 
To look once more into each other's face. 
Happy were those who dwelt within the eye 
Of the volcanoes and their mountain torch. 



SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 6S 

2. A fearful hope was all the world contained : 
Forests were set on fire; but hour by hour, 
They fell and faded; and the crackling trunks 
Extinguished with a crash — and all was black. 
The brows of men, by their despairing light, 
Wore an unearthly aspect, as, by fits, 

The flashes fell upon them. Some lay down, 

And hid their eyes, and wept; and some did rest 

Their chins upon their clenched hands, and smiled; 

And others hurried to and fro, and fed 

Their funeral piles with fuel, and looked up, 

"With mad disquietude, on the dull sky, 

The pall of a past world ; and then again 

With curses, cast them down upon the dust, 

And gnashed their teeth, and howled. The wild birds 

shrieked, 
And, terrified, did flutter on the ground, 
And flap their useless wings: the wildest brutes 
Came tame and tremulous ; and vipers crawled 
And twined themselves among the multitude, 
Hissing, but stingless — they were slain for food. 

3. And War, which for a moment was no more, 
Did glut himself again : — a meal was bought 
With blood, and each sat sullenly apart, 
Gorging himself in gloom; no love was left; 

All earth was but one thought — and that was death, 

Immediate and inglorious ; and the pang 

Of famine fed upon all entrails. Men 

Died ; and their bones were tombless as their flesh. 

The meager by the meager were devoured. 

Even dogs assailed their masters, — all save one, 

And he was faithful to a corpse, and kept 

The birds, and beasts, and famished men at bay, 

Till hunger clung them or the drooping dead 

Lured their lank jaws: himself sought out no food, 

But with a piteous and perpetual moan, 

And a quick, desolate cry, licking the hand 

Which answered not with a caress — he died. 



64: SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 

4. The crowd was famished by degrees. But two 
Of an enormous city did survive, 

And they were enemies. They met beside 

The dying ember j of an altar-place, 

Where had been heaped a mass of holy things 

For an unholy usage. They raked up, 

And, shivering, scraped with their cold skeleton hands, 

The feeble ashes, and their feeble breath 

Blew for a little life, and made a flame, 

Which was a mockery. Then they lifted 

Their eyes as it grew lighter, and beheld 

Each other's aspects — saw, and shrieked, and died; 

Even of their mutual hideousness they died, 

Unknowing who he was upon whose brow 

Famine had written Fiend. 

5. The world was void : 
The populous and the powerful was a lump, 
Seasonless, 7ierbless, treeless, manless, lifeless; 
A lump of death, a chaos of hard clay. 

The rivers, lakes, and ocean all stood still, 

And nothing stirred within their silent depths. 

Ships, sailorless, lay rotting on the sea, 

And their masts fell down piecemeal : as they dropped 

They slept on the abyss, without a surge, — 

The waves were dead ; the tides were in their grave; 

The moon, their mistress, had expired before; 

The winds were withered in the stagnant air, 

And the clouds perished : Darkness had no need 

Of aid from them— she was the universe. 

Lord Byron. 

a curtaun" lecture of mrs. caudle. 

Bah ! that's the third umbrella gone since Christmas. 
What were you to do ? Why, let him go home in the 
rain, to be sure. I'm very certain there was nothing 
about him that could spoil. — Take cold, indeed ! He 
doesn't look like one of the sort to take cold. Besides he'd 



SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 65 

have better taken cold than taken our umbrella. — Do you 
hear the rain, Mr. Caudle 1 I say, do you hear the rain ? 
And, as I'm alive, if it isn't St. S within' s day ! Do you 
hear it against the windows ? Nonsense ! you don't im- 
pose upon me; you can't be asleep with such a shower 
as that ! Do you hear it, I say ? Oh ! you do hear 
it ! "Well, that's a pretty flood, I think, to last for six 
weeks ; and no stirring all the time out of the house. 

2. Pooh ! don't think me a fool, Mr. Caudle ; don't in- 
sult me ; he return the umbrella ! Anybody would think 
you were born yesterday. As if anybody ever did return 
an umbrella ! There : do yon hear it ? Worse and worse. 

' Cats and dogs, and for six weeks : always six weeks ; and 
no umbrella ! — I should like to know how the children 
are to go to school to-morrow ! They shan'.t go through 
such weather; I am determined. No; they shall stop at 
home and never learn any thing (the blessed creatures !) 
sooner than go and get wet ! And when they grow up, I 
wonder who they'll have to thank for knowing nothing: 
who, indeed, but their father. People who can't feel for 
their own children ought never to be fathers. 

3. Bat I know why you lent the umbrella : oh ! yes, I 
know very well. I was going out to tea at dear mother's 
to-morrow : you knew that, and you did it on purpose. 
Don't tell me ; you hate to have me go there, and take 
every mean advantage to hinder me. But don't you 
think it, Mr. Caudle ; no, sir : if it comes down in bucket- 
fulls, I'll go all the more. No ; and I won't have a cab ! 
Where do you think the money's to come from ? You've 
got nice high notions at that club of yours ! A cab, in- 
deed ! Cost me sixteen pence, at least. Sixteen pence ! 
two-and-eight pence; for there's back again. Cabs, in- 
deed ! I should like to know who's to pay for 'em ; for 



6Q SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 

I'm sure you can't, if you go on as you do, throwing 
away your property, and beggaring your children, buy- 
ing umbrellas ! 

4. Do you hear the rain, Mr. Caudle ? I say, do you 
hear it ? But I don't care — I'll go to mother's to-morrow 
> — I will ; and what's more, I'll walk every step of the 
way ; and you know that will give me my death. Don't 
call me a foolish woman ; it's you that's the foolish man. 
You know I can't wear clogs ; and with no umbrella, 
the wet's sure to give me a cold : it always does ; but 
what do you care for that ? Nothing at all. I may be 
laid up, for what you care, as I dare say I shall ; and a 
pretty doctor's bill there'll be. I hope there will. It will 
teach you to lend your umbrellas again. I shouldn't won- 
der if I caught my death : yes, and that's what you lent 
the umbrella for. Of course ! 

5. Nice clothes I get, too, traipsing through weather 
like this. My gown and bonnet will be spoiled quite. 
Needn't I wear 'em, then ? Indeed, Mr. Caudle, I shall 
wear 'em. No, sir ; I'm not going out a dowdy, to please 
you, or anybody else. Gracious knows ! it isn't of tea that 
I step over the threshold : — indeed, I might as well be a 
slave at once : better, I should say ; but when I do go out, 
Mr. Caudle, I choose to go as a lady. 

6. Oh ! that rain — if it isn't enough to break in the 
windows. Ugh ! I look forward with dread for to-morrow ! 
How am I to go to mother's, I'm sure I can't tell ; but if 
I die, I'll do it. — No, sir ; I won't borrow an umbrella : 
no ; and you shan't huy one. Mr. Caudle, if you bring 
home another umbrella, I'll throw it into the street. Ha ! 
And it was only last week I had a new nozzle put to that 
umbrella. I'm sure if I'd have known as much as I do 
now it might have gone without one. Paying for new 



SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 67 

nozzles for other people to laugh at you ! Oh ! it's all very- 
well for you ; you can go to sleep. You've no thought 
of your poor patient wife, and your own clear children ; 
you think of nothing but lending umbrellas ! Meu, in- 
deed ! — call themselves lords of the creation ! pretty lords, 
when they can't even take care of an umbrella ! 

7. I know that walk to-morrow will be the death of me. 
But that's what you want : then you may go to your club, 
and do as you like ; and then nicely my poor dear chil- 
dren will be used ; but then, sir, then you'll be happy. Oh ! 
don't tell me ! I know you will : else you'd never have 
lent the umbrella ! — You have to go on Thursday about 
that summons ; and, of course, you can't go. No, indeed : 
you donH go without the umbrella. You may lose the 
debt, for what I care — it won't be so much as spoiling 
your clothes — better lose it : people deserve to lose debts 
who lend umbrellas ! 

8. And I should like to know how I'm to go to mother's 
without the umbrella. Oh ! don't tell me that I said I 
would go : that's nothing to do with it, — nothing at all. 
Shell think I'm neglecting her; and the little money 
we're to have, we shan't have at all ; — because we've no 
umbrella. — The children, too ! (dear things !) they'll be 
sopping wet : for they shan't stay at home ; they shan't 
lose then learning ; it's all their father will leave them, 
I'm sure ! But they shall go to school. Don't tell me 
they shouldn't (you are so aggravating, Caudle, you'd spoil 
the temper of an angel !) ; they shall go to school : mark 
that ! and if they get their deaths of cold, it's not my 
fault ; I didn't lend the umbrella. Jerrold. 

IMMORTALITY. 

"Man, thou shalt never die!" Celestial voices 
Hymn it unto our souls : according harps, 



68 SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 

By angel fingers touched, when the mild stars 

Of morning sang together, sound forth still 

The sung of our great immortality ! 

Thick-clustering orbs on this our fair domain, 

The tall, dark mountains, and the deep-toned seas, 

Join in this solemn, universal song. 

O listen, ye our spirits ! drink it in 

From all the air! 'Tis in the gentle moonlight; 

'Tis floating 'mid day's setting glories; night, 

Wrapped in her sable robe, with silent step 

Comes to our bed, and breathes it in our ears. 

Night and the dawn, bright day and thoughtful eve, 

All time, all bounds, the limitless expanse, 

As one vast mystic instrument, are touched 

By an unseen, living hand, and conscious chords 

Quiver with joy in this great jubilee : 

The dying hear it ; and, as sounds of earth 

Grow dull and distant, wake their passing souls 

To mingle in this heavenly harmony." 

K. H. Dana. 

ADVANTAGES OF ADVERSITY. 

1. From the dark portals of the star-chamber, and in the 
stern text of the acts of uniformity, the Pilgrims re- 
ceived a commission, more efficient than any that ever 
bore the royal seal. Their banishment to Holland was 
fortunate ; the decline of their little company in the 
strange land was fortunate ; the difficulties which they 
experienced in getting the royal consent to banish them- 
selves to this wilderness were fortunate ; all the tears and 
heart-breakings of that memorable parting at Delfthaven 
had the happiest mfiuence on the rising destinies of New 
England. All this purified the ranks of the settlers. 
These rough touches of fortune brushed off the light, un- 
certain, selfish spirits. They made it a grave, solemn, 
self-denying expedition, and required of those who en- 



SELECTIONS FOE PRACTICE. 69 

gaged in it to be so too. They cast a broad shadow of 
thought and seriousness over the cause ; and, if this some- 
times deepened into melancholy and bitterness, can we find 
no apology for such a human weakness ? 

2. It is sad, indeed, to reflect on the disasters which the 
little band of Pilgrims encountered ; sad to see a portion 
of them, the prey of unrelenting cupidity, treacherously 
embarked in an unsound, unseaworthy ship, which they 
are soon obliged to abandon, and crowd themselves into 
one vessel ; one hundred persons, besides the ship's com- 
pany, in a vessel of one hundred and sixty tons. One is 
touched at the story of the long, cold, and weary autum- 
nal passage ; of the landing on the inhospital rocks at this 
dismal season ; where they are deserted, before long, by 
the ship which had brought them, and which seemed their 
only hold upon the world of fellow-men, a prey to the 
elements and to want, and fearfully ignorant of the num- 
bers, the power, and the temper of the savage tribes that 
filled the unexplored continent upon whose verge they 
had ventured. 

3. But all this wrought together for good. These 
trials of wandering and exile, of the ocean, the winter, 
the wilderness, and the savage foe, were the final assur- 
ances of success. It was these that put far away from 
our fathers' cause all patrician softness, ail hereditary 
claims to preeminence. No effeminate nobility crowded 
into the dark and austere ranks of the Pilgrims. ISTo 
Carr nor Tillers would lead on the ill-provided band of 
despised Puritans. JSTo well-endowed* clergy were on 
the alert to quit their cathedrals, and set up a pompous 
hierarchy in the frozen wilderness. E~o craving governors 
were anxious to be sent over to our cheerless El Dorados 
of ice and snow. 



70 SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 

4. ~No ; they could not say they had encouraged, patron- 
ized, or helped the Pilgrims : their own cares, their own 
labors, their own councils, their own blood, contrived all, 
achieved all, bore all, sealed all. They could not after- 
wards fairly pretend to reap where they had not strewn ; 
and, as our fathers reared this broad and solid fabric with 
pains and watchfulness, unaided, barely tolerated, it did 
not fall when the favor, which had always been with- 
holden, was changed into wrath ; when the arm, which 
had never supported, was raised to destroy. 

5. Methinks I see it now, that one solitary, adventur- 
ous vessel, the Mayflower of a forlorn hope, freighted 
with the prospects of a future State, and bound across the 
unknown sea. I behold it pursuing, with a thousand mis- 
givings, the uncertain, the tedious voyage. Suns rise 
and set, and weeks and months pass, and winter surprises 
them on the deep, but brings them not the sight of the 
wished-for shore. 

6. I see them now scantily supplied with provisions ; 
crowded almost to suffocation in their ill-stored prison ; 
delayed by calms, pursuing a circuitous route — and now 
driven in fury before the raging tempest, on the high 
and giddy waves. The awful voice of the storm howls 
through the rigging. The laboring masts seem straining 
from their base ; the dismal sound of the pumps is 
heard ; the ship leaps, as it were, madly, from billow to 
billow ; the ocean breaks and settles with ingulfing floods 
over the floating deck, and beats, with deadening, shiver- 
ing weight, against the staggered vessel. . 

7. I see them, escaped from these perils, pursuing their 
all but desperate undertaking, and landed at last, after a 
five months' passage, on the ice-clad rocks of Plymouth — 
weak and weary from the voyage, poorly armed, scantily 



SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 71 

provisioned, depending on the charity of their shipmaster 
for a draught of beer on board, drinking nothing but 
water on shore — without shelter, without means — sur- 
rounded by hostile tribes. 

8. Shut now the volume of history, and tell me, on any 
principle of human probability, what shall be the fate of 
this handful of adventurers. Tell me, man of military 
science, in hoAV many months were they all swept off by 
the thirty savage tribes, enumerated within the early limits 
of New England \ Tell me, politician, how long did this 
shadow of a colony, on which your conventions and trea- 
ties had not smiled, languish on the distant coast ? Stu- 
dent of history, compare for me the baffled projects, the 
deserted settlements, the abandoned adventures of other 
times, and find the parallel of this. 

9. Was it the winter's storm, beating upon the house- 
less heads of women and children ; was it hard labor and 
spare meals ; was it disease ; was it the tomahawk ; was 
it the deep malady of a blighted hope, a ruined enterprise, 
and a broken heart, aching in its last moments at the recol- 
lection of the loved and left beyond the sea — was it some, 
or all of these united, that hurried this forsaken company 
to their melancholy fate ; and is it possible that neither 
of these causes, that not all combined were able to blast 
this bud of hope % Is it possible, that, from a beginning 
so feeble, so frail, so worthy, not so much of admiration 
as of pity, there has gone forth a progress so steady, a 
growth so wonderful, an expansion so ample, a reality so 
important, a promise, yet to be fulfilled, so glorious % 

Edward Everett, 
morning. 

Sweet is the breath of Morn, her rising sweet, 
With charm of earliest birds ; pleasant the sun, 



72 SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 

When first on this delightful land he spreads 
His orient beams, on fterb, tree, fruit, and flower, 
Glistening with dew ; fragrant the fertile earth 
After soft showers ; and sweet the coming on 
Of grateful evening mild: then silent Mght, 
With this her solemn bird, and this fair moon, 
And these the gems of heaven, her starry train. 

Milton. 

the dilemma. scene from pickwick. 

Mr. Pickwick's apartments in Goswell street, although 
on a limited scale, were not only of a very neat and com- 
fortable description, but peculiarly adapted for the resi- 
dence of a man of his genius and observation. His sit- 
ting-room was the first floor front, his bed-room was the 
second floor front ; and thus, whether he was sitting at 
his desk in the parlor, or standing before the dressing- 
glass in his dormitory, he had an equal opportunity of 
contemplating human nature in all the numerous phases 
it exhibits, in that not more populous than popular thor- 
oughfare. 

2. His landlady, Mrs. Bardell — the relict and sole ex- 
ecutrix of a deceased custom-house officer — was a comely 
(kiim'ly) woman of bustling manners and agreeable ap- 
pearance, with a natural genius for cooking, improved by 
study and long practice into an ex'qmsite talent. There 
were no children, no servants, no fowls. The only other 
inmates of the house were a large man and a small boy ; 
the first a lodger, the second a production of Mrs. Bar- 
dell's. The large man was always at home precisely at 
ten o'clock at night, at which hour he regularly con- 
densed himself into the limits of a dwarfish French bed- 
stead in the back parlor; and the infantine sports and 
gymnastic exercises of Master Bardell were exclusively 



SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 73 

confined to the neighboring pavements and gutters. 
Cleanliness and quiet reigned throughout the house ; and 
in it Mr. Pickwick's will .was law. 

3. To any one acquainted with these points of the do- 
mestic economy of the establishment, and conversant 
with the admirable regulation of Mr. Pickwick's mind, 
his appearance and behavior, on the morning previous to 
that which had been fixed upon for the journey to Eatans- 
vill, would have been most mysterious and unaccount- 
able. He paced the room to and fro with hurried steps, 
popped his head out of the window at intervals of about 
three minutes each, constantly referred to his watch, and 
exhibited many other manifestations of impatience, very 
unusual with him. It was evident that something of 
great importance was in contemplation; but what that 
something was, not even Mrs. Bardell herself had been 
enabled to discover. 

4. "Mrs. Bardell," said Mr. Pickwick, at last, as that 
amiable female approached the termination of a prolong- 
ed dusting of the apartment. " Sir," said Mrs. Bardell. 
" Your little boy is a very long time gone." " Why, it's 
a good long way to the Borough, sir," remonstrated Mrs. 
Bardell. "Ah," said Mr. Pickwick, "very true; so it 
is." Mr. Pickwick relapsed into silence, and Mrs. Bar- 
dell resumed her dusting. 

5. " Mrs. Bardell," said Mr. Pickwick, at the expiration 
of a few minutes. " Sir," said Mrs. Bardell again. "Do 
you think it's a much greater expense to keep two people, 
than to keep one ?" " La, Mr. Pickwick," said Mrs. Bar- 
dell, coloring up to the very border of her cap, as she fan- 
cied she observed a species of matrimonial twinkle in the 
eyes of her lodger ; " La, Mr. Pickwick, what a question !" 
" Weil, but do you ?" inquired Mr. Pickwick. " That de- 

4 



74 SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 

pends," said Mrs. Bardell, approaching the duster very- 
near to Mr. Pickwick's elbow, which was planted on the 
table ; " that depends a good deal upon the person, you 
know, Mr. Pickwick ; and whether it's a saving and care- 
ful person, sir." " That's very true,'' said Mr. Pickwick ; 
"but the person I have in my eye (here he looked very 
hard at Mrs. Bardell) I think possesses these qualities ; 
and has, moreover, a considerable knowledge of the 
world, and a great deal of sharpness, Mrs. Bardell ; which 
may be of material use to me." 

6. " La, Mr. Pickwick," said Mrs. Bardell ; the crim- 
son rising to her cap-border again. " I do," said Mr. 
Pickwick growing energetic, as was his wont (wunt) in 
speaking of a subject which interested him. " I do, in- 
deed; and to tell you the truth, Mrs. Bardell, I have 
made up my mind." " Dear me, sir," exclaimed Mrs. 
Bardell. " You'll think it not very strange now," said 
the amiable Mr. Pickwick, with a good-humored glance 
at his companion, " that I never consulted you about this 
matter, and never mentioned it, till I sent your little boy 
out this morning — eh V 3 

7. Mrs. Bardell could only reply by a look. She had 
long worshipped Mr. Pickwick at a distance, but here she 
was, all at once, raised to a pinnacle to which her wildest 
and most extravagant hopes had never dared to aspire. 
Mr. Pickwick was going to propose — a deliberate plan, 
too — sent her little boy to the Borough, to get him out 
of the way — how thoughtful — how considerate ! — " Well," 
said Mr. Pickwick, " what do you think ?" " Oh, Mr. 
Pickwick," said Mrs. Bardell, trembling with agitation, 
"you're very kind, sir," " It will save you a great deal 
of trouble, won't it ?" said Mr. Pickwick. " Oh, I never 
thought anything of the trouble, sir," replied Mrs. Bar-. 



SELECTIONS FOR PEACTICE. 75 

dell; "and of course, I should take more trouble to please 
you than ever ; but it is so kind of you, Mr. Pickwick, 
to have so much consideration for my loneliness." 

8. " Ah, to be sure," said Mr. Pickwick ; " I never 
thought of that. When I am in town, you'll always 
have somebody to sit with you. To be. sure, so you will." 
" I am sure I ought to be a very happy woman," said 
Mrs. Bardell. " And your little boy — " said Mr. Pick- 
wick. " Bless his heart," interposed Mrs. Bardell, with 
a maternal sob. " He, too, will have a companion," re- 
sumed Mr. Pickwick, " a lively one, who'll teach him, 
I'll be bound, more tricks in a week, than he. would ever 
learn in a year." And Mr. Pickwick smiled placidly. 

9. " Or/you dear—" said Mrs. Bardell. Mr. Pickwick 
started. " Oh you kind, good, playful dear," said Mrs. 
Bardell ; and without more ado, she rose from her chair, 
and flung her arms round Mr. Pickwick's neck, with a 
cataract of tears, and a chorus of sobs. "Bless my soul," 
cried the astonished Mr. Pickwick ; — " Mrs. Bardell, my 
good woman — dear me, what a situation — pray consider. 
Mrs. Bardell, don't — if anybody should come — " " Oh, 
let them come," exclaimed Mrs. Bardell, frantically ; " I'll 
never leave you — dear, kind, good soul ;" and, with these 
words, Mrs. Bardell clung the tighter. 

10. " Mercy upon me," said Mr. Pickwick, struggling 
violently, " I hear somebody coming up the stairs. Don't, 
don't, there's a good creature, don't." But entreaty and 
remonstrance were alike unavailing: for Mrs. Bardell 
had fainted in Mr. Pickwick's arms ; and before he could 
gain time to deposit her on a chair, Master Bardell en- 
tered the room, ushering in Mr. Tupman, Mr. Winkle, 
and Mr. Snodgrass. Mr. Pickwick was struck motion- 
less and speechless. He stood with his lovely burden in 



76 SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 

his arms, gazing vacantly on the countenances of his 
friends, without the slightest attempt at recognition or 
explanation. They, in their turn, stared at him ; and 
Master Bardell, in his turn, stared at everybody. 

11. The astonishment of the Pickwickians was so ab- 
sorbing, and the perplexity of Mr. Pickwick .was so ex- 
treme, that they might have remained in exactly the same 
relative situation until the suspended animation of the 
lady was restored, had it not been for a most beautiful 
and touching expression of filial affection on the part of 
her youthful son. Clad in a tight suit of corduroy, span- 
gled with brass buttons of a very considerable size, he at 
first stood at the door astounded and uncertain ; but by 
degrees, the impression that his mother must have suffer- 
ed some personal damage, pervaded his partially devel- 
oped mind, and considering Mr. Pickwick the aggressor, 
he set up an appalling and semi-earthly kind of howling, 
and butting forward, with his head, commenced assailing 
that immortal gentleman abont the back and legs, with 
such blows and pinches as the strength of his arm and 
the violence of his excitement allowed. 

12. " Take this little villain away," said the -agonized 
Mr. Pickwick, "he's mad." "What is the matter?" 
said the three tongue-tied Pickwickians. " I don't know," 
replied Mr. Pickwick, pettishly. " Take away the boy — 
(here Mr. Winkle carried the interesting boy, screaming 
and struggling, to the farther end of the apartment). 
Now help me to lead this woman down stairs." " Oh, 
I'm better now," said Mrs. Bardell, faintly. " Let me 
lead you down stairs," said the ever gallant Mr. Tup- 
man. " Thank you, sir — thank you ;" exclaimed Mrs. 
Bardell, hysterically. And down stairs she was led ac- 
cordingly, accompanied by her affectionate son. 



SELECTIONS FOE PRACTICE. 77 

13. " I can not conceive " — said Mr. Pickwick, when 
his friend returned — " I can not conceive what has been 
the matter with that woman. I had merely announced 
to her my intention of keeping a man-servant, when she 
fell into the extraordinary paroxysm in which yon found 
her. Very extraordinary thing/' " Very," said his 
three friends. " Placed me in such an extremely awk- 
ward situation," continued Mr. Pickwick. " Very ;" was 
the reply of his followers, as they coughed slightly, and 
looked dubiously at each other. 

14. This behavior was not lost upon Mr. Pickwick. 
He remarked their incredulity. They evidently suspected 
him. " There is a man in the passage now," said Mr. 
Tiipman. " It's the man that I spoke to you about," 
said Mr. Pickwick, " I sent for him to the Borough this 
morning. Have the goodness to call him up, Mr. Snod- 
grass." Dickens. 

deity. 

1. A million torches, lighted by Thy hand, 
Wander unwearied through the blue abyss — 
They own Thy power, accomplish Thy command, 
All gay with life, all eloquent with bliss. 

What shall we call them? Piles of crystal light — 
A glorious company of golden streams — 
Lamps of celestial ether burning bright — 
Suns lighting systems with their joyous beams ? 
But Thou to these art as the noon to night. 

2. Yes ! as a drop of water in the sea, 

All this magnificence in Thee is lost : — 

What are ten thousand worlds compared to Thee ? 

And what am I then? — Heaven's unnumbered host, 

Though multiplied by myriads, and arrayed 

Ln all the glory of sublime st thought, 

Is but an atom in the balance, weighed 



78 SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 

Against Thy greatness — is a cipher brought 
Against infinity.' What am I then? Naught! 

3. Naught ! But the effluence of Thy light divine, 
Pervading worlds, hath reached my bosom too ; 
Yes ! In my spirit doth Thy spirit shine 

As shines the sun-beam in a drop of dew. 
Naught ! but I live, and on hope's pinions fly 
Eager toward Thy presence ; for in Thee 
I live, and breathe, and dwell ; aspiring high. 

4. Thou art! — directing, guiding all — Thou art! 
Direct my understanding then to Thee ; 
Control my spirit, guide my wandering heart ; 
Though but an atom 'midst immensity, 

Still I am something, fashioned by Thy hand ! 
I hold a middle rank 'twixt heaven and earth — 
On the last verge of mortal being stand, 
Close to the realms where angels have their birth, 
Just on the boundaries of the spirit-land ! 

5. The chain of being is complete in me — ■ 
In me is matter's last gradation lost, 
And the next step is spirit — Deity! 

I can command the lightning, and am dust ! 
A monarch and a slave — a worm, a god! 
Whence came I here, and how? so marvelously 
Constructed and conceived ? unknown! this clod 
Lives surely through some higher energy; 
For from itself alone it could not be ! 

6. Creator, yes ! Thy wisdom and Thy word 
Created me! Thou source of life and good! 
Thou spirit of my spirit, and my Lord ! 

Thy light, Thy love, in their bright plenitude 
Filled me with an immortal soul, to spring 
Over the abyss of death; and bade it wear 
The garments of eternal day, and wing 
Its heavenly flight beyond this little sphere, 
Even to its source — to Thee — its Author there. 



SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 79 

, O thoughts ineffable! 'O visions blest! 
Though worthless our conceptions all of Thee, 
Yet shall Thy shadowed image fill our breast, 
And waft its homage to Thy Deity, 
(rod! thus alone my lowly thoughts can soar, 
Thus seek Thy presence — Being wise and good! 
'Midst Thy vast works admire, obey, adore ; 
And when the tongue is eloquent no more 
The soul shall speak in tears of gratitude. 

Derzhaven. 



THE DEATH OF HAMILTON. 

A short time since, and he, who is the occasion of our 
sorrows, was the ornament of his country. He stood on 
an eminence, and glory covered him. From that emi- 
nence he has fallen : suddenly, forever fallen. His inter- 
course with the living world is now ended ; and those who 
would hereafter find him, must seek him in the grave. 
There, cold and lifeless, is the heart which just now was 
the seat of friendship ; there, dim and sightless, is the eye, 
whose radiant and enlivening orb beamed with intelli- 
gence ; and there, closed forever, are those lips, on whose 
persuasive accents we have so of fen, and so lately hung 
with transport ! 

2. From the darkness which rests upon his tomb there 
proceeds, methinks, a light, in which it is clearly seen, 
that those gaudy objects which men pursue are only 
phantoms. In this light how dimly shines the splendor 
of victory — how humble appears the majesty of grandeur ! 
The bubble, which seemed to have so much solidity, has 
burst ; and we again see, that all below the sun is vanity ! 

3. True, the funeral eulogy has been pronounced, the 
sad and solemn procession has moved, the badge of mourn- 



80 SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 

ing has already been decreed, and presently the sculptured 
marble will lift up its front, proud to perpetuate the name 
of Hamilton, and rehearse to the passing traveler his 
virtues (just tributes of respect, and to the living useful) ; 
but to him, moldering in his narrow and humble habita- 
tion, what are they ? How vain ! how unavailing ! 

4. Approach, and behold, while I lift from his sepulchre 
its covering ! Ye admirers of his greatness ! ye emulous 
of his talents and his fame ! approach and behold him 
now. How pale ! how silent ! ~No martial bands admire 
the adroitness of his movements ; no fascinating throng 
weep, and melt, and tremble at his eloquence ! Amazing 
change ! a shroud ! a coffin ! a narrow, subterraneous 
cabin ! — this is all that now remains of Hamilton ! And 
is this all that remains of Hamilton ? During a life so 
transitory, what lasting monument, then, can our fondest 
hopes erect ! 

5. My brethren, we stand on the borders of an awful 
gulf, which is swallowing up all things human. And is 
there, amidst this universal wreck, nothing stable, nothing 
abiding, nothing immortal, on which poor, frail, dying 
man can fasten ? Ask the hero, ask the statesman, whose 
wisdom you have been accustomed to revere, and he will 
tell you. He will tell you, did I say? He has already 
told you, from his death-bed ; and his illumined spirit 
still whispers from the heavens,with well-known eloquence, 
the solemn admonition : " Mortals hastening to the tomb, 
and once the companions of my pilgrimage, take warniug 
and avoid my errors ; cultivate the virtues I have recom- 
mended ; choose the Saviour I have chosen ; live disin- 
terestedly ; live for immortality ; and would you rescue 
any thing from final dissolution, lay it up in God." 

ISTott. 



SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 81 



THE STARS. 

Roll on, ye stars ; exult in youthful prime ; 
Mark with bright curves the printless steps of Time ; 
Near and more near your beamy cars approach, 
And lessening orbs on lessening orbs encroach. 
Flowers of the sky, ye, too, to age must yield, 
Frail as your silken sisters of the field. 

Star after star from heaven's high arch shall rush, 
Suns sink on suns, and systems systems crush, 
Headlong, extinct, to one dark centre fall, 
And death, and night, and chaos mingle all; 
Till o'er the wreck, emerging from, the storm, 
Immortal Nature lifts her changeful form, 
Mounts from her funeral pyre, on wings of flame, 
And soars and shines, another and the same. 

DARWIN". 



PUBLIC VIRTUE. 

1. I hope, that in all that relates to personal firmness, all 
that concerns a just appreciation of the insignificance of 
human life, — whatever maj be attempted to threaten or 
alarm a sonl not easily swayed by opposition, or awed or 
intimidated by menace, — a stout heart and a steady eye, 
that can survey 7 , unmoved and undaunted, any mere per- 
sonal perils that assail this poor, transient, perishing frame, 
— I may, without disparagement, compare with other 
men. 

2. But there is a sort of courage, which, I frankly con- 
fess it, I do not possess, — a boldness to which I dare not 
aspire, a valor which I can not covet. I can not lay my- 
self down in the way of the welfare and happiness of my 
country. That I can not, I have not the courage to do. 



82 SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 

I can not interpose the power with which I may be in-* 
vested — a power conferred, not for my personal benefit, 
nor for niy aggrandizement, but for my country's good — - 
to check her onward march to greatness and glory. I 
have not courage enough. I am too cowardly for that. 

3. I would not, I dare not, in the exercise of such a 
trust, lie down, and place my body across the path that 
leads my country to prosperity and happiness. This is a 
sort of courage widely different from that which a man 
may display in his private conduct and personal relations. 
Personal or private courage is totally distinct from that 
higher and nobler courage which prompts the patriot to 
offer himself a voluntary sacrifice to his country's good. 

4. Apprehensions of the imputation of the want of 
firmness sometimes impel us to perform rash and incon- 
siderate acts. It is the greatest courage to be able to bear 
the imputation of the want of courage. But pride, vanity, 
egotism, so unamiable and offensive in private life, are 
vices which partake of the character of crimes, in the con- 
duct of public affairs. The unfortunate victim of these 
passions can not see beyond the little, petty, contemptible 
circle of his own personal interests. All his thoughts are 
withdrawn from his country, and concentrated on his 
consistency, his firmness, himself. 

5. The high, the exalted, the sublime emotions of a 
patriotism, which, soaring toward heaven, rises far above 
all mean, low, or selfish things, and is absorbed by one 
soul-transporting thought of the good and the glory of one's 
country, are never felt in his impenetrable bosom. That 
patriotism, which, catching its inspirations from the im- 
mortal G-od, and leaving at an immeasurable distance be- 
low all ]esser, groveling, personal interests and feelings, 
animates and prompts to deeds of self-sacrifice, of valor, 



SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 83 

of devotion, and of death itself, — that is public virtue ; 
that is the noblest, the sublimest, of all public virtues. 

H. Clay. 

CRITICISM. 

Whoever thinks a faultless piece to see 

Thinks what ne'er was, nor is, nor e'er shall be. 

In every work regard the writer's end, 

Since none can compass more than they intend ; 

And, if the means be just, the conduct true, 

Applause, in spite of trivial faults, is due. 

As men of breeding; sometimes men of wit, 

To avoid great errors must the less commit ; 

Neglect the rules each verbal critic lays ; 

For not to know some trifles, is a praise. 

Most critics, fond of some subservient art, 

Still make the wh5le depend upon a part : 

They talk of principles, but notions prize ; 

And all to one loved folly sacrifice. Pope. 

THE REVOLUTIONARY ALARM. 

Darkness closed upon the country and upon the town, 
but it was no night for sleep. Heralds on swift relays of 
horses transmitted the war-message from hand to hand, • 
till village repeated it to village ; the sea to the back- 
woods ; the plains to the highlands ; and it was never 
suffered to droop ; till it had been borne North, and South, 
and East, and West, throughout the land. 

2. It spread over the bays that receive the Saco and the 
Penobscot. Its loud reveille broke the rest of the trap- 
pers of New Hampshire, and ringing like bugle-notes 
from peak to peak, overleapt the Green Mountains, 
swept onward to Montreal, and descended the ocean 
river, till the responses were echoed from the cliffs of 
Quebec. The hills along the Hudson told to one another 
the tale. 



84 SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 

3. As the summons hurried to the South, it was one 
day at New York ; in one more at Philadelphia ; the next 
it lighted a watchfire at Baltimore ; thence it waked an 
answer at Annapolis. Crossing the Potomac near Mount 
Yernon, it was sent forward without a halt to Williams- 
burg. It traversed the Dismal Swamp to Nansemond, 
along the route of the first emigrants to North Carolina. . 
It moved onwards and still onwards through boundless 
groves of evergreen to Newborn and to Wilmington. 

4. " For God's sake forward it by night and by day," 
wrote Cornelius Harnett, by the express which sped for 
Brunswick. Patriots of South Carolina caught up its 
tones at the border and despatched, it to Charleston, and 
through pines and palmetos and moss-clad live oaks, 
further to the South, till it resounded among the New 
England settlements beyond the Savannah. 

5. The Blue ridge took up the voice and made it heard 
from one end to the other of the valley of Yirginia. The 
Arleghanies, as they listened, opened their barriers that 
the " loud call " might pass through to the hardy riflemen 
on the Holston, the Watauga, and the French Broad. 
Ever renewing its strength, powerful enough even to 
create a commonwealth, it breathed its inspiring word to 
the first settlers of Kentucky ; so that hunters who made 
their halt in the machless valley of the Elkhorn, commem- 
orated the 19th day of April, 1776, by naming their en- 
campment Lexington. 

6. With one impulse the colonies sprung to arms ; with 
one spirit they pledged themselves to each other " to be 
ready for the extreme event." With one heart the con- 
tinent cried, " Liberty or Death." 

Bancroft. 



SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 85 

SHERIDAN'S RIDE. 

1. Up from, the South at break of day, 
Bringing to Winchester fresh dismay, 
The affrighted air with a shudder bore, 

Like a herald in haste, to the chieftain's door, 
The terrible grumble, and rumble, and roar, 
Telling the battle was on once more, 
And Sheridan — twenty miles away. 

2. And wider still those billows of war 
Thundered along the horizon's bar. 
And louder yet into Winchester rolled 
The roar of that red sea uncontrolled, 
Making the blood of the listener cold 

As he thought of the stake in that fiery fray, 
And Sheridan — twenty miles away. 

3. But there is a road from Winchester town, 
A good, broad highway leading down ; 

And there, through the flush of the morning light, 

A steed, as black as the steeds of night, 

Was seen to pass as with eagle flight — 

As if he knew the terrible need, 

He stretched away with the utmost speed ; 

Hills rose and fell — but his heart was gay, 

With Sheridan fifteen miles away. 

4. Still sprung from these swift hoofs, thundering South, 
The dust, like the smoke from the cannon's mouth, 

Or the trail of a comet sweeping faster and faster, 
Foreboding to foemen the doom of disaster; 
The heart of the steed and the heart of the master 
Were beating like prisoners assaulting their walls, 
Impatient to be where the battle-field calls ; 
Every nerve of the charger was strained to full play, 
With Sheridan only ten miles away. 

5. Under his spurning feet, the road 
Like an arrowy Alpine river flowed, 



86 SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 

And the landscape sped away behind 

Like an ocean flying before the wind; 

And the steed, like a bark fed with furnace ire, 

Swept on with his wild eyes full of fire. 

But, lo ! he is nearing his heart's desire — 

He is snuffing the smoke of the roaring fray, 

With Sheridan only five miles away. 

3. The first that the General saw were the groups 
Of stragglers, and then the retreating troops ; — 
What was done — what to do — a glance told him both, 
Then striking his spurs with a terrible oath, 
He dashed down the line 'mid a. storm of huzzahs, 
And the wave of retreat checked its course there because 
The sight of the master compelled it to pause. 
With foam and with dust the black charger was gray; 
By the flash of his eye, and his red nostril's play; 
He seemed to the whole great army to say, 
" I have orought you Sheridan all the way 
From Winchester down to save the day /" 

7. Hurrah, hurrah for Sheridan! 

Hurrah, hurrah for horse and man ! 
And when their statues are placed on high 
Under the dome of the Union sky, — 
The American soldiers Temple of Fame, — 
There, with the glorious General's name, 
Be it said in letters both bold and bright : 
" Here is the steed that saved the day 
By carrying Sheridan into the fight 
From Winchester — twenty miles away /" 



T. B. Reed. 



THE RAVEN". 



1. 

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and 

weary, 
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore — 



SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 87 

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tap- 
ping, 

As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber-door. 

" 'Tis some visitor," I muttered, wi tapping at my chamber- 
door — 

Only this, and nothing more." 



Ah, distinctly I remember, it was in the bleak December, 
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the 

floor, 
Eagerly I wished the morrow: vainly I had sought to borrow 
From my books surcease of sorrow — sorrow for the lost 

Lenore — 
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name 

Lenore — 

Nameless here forevermore. 



And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain, 
Thrilled me — filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before; 
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeat- 
ing, 
" 'Tis some visitor entreating entrance' at my chamber-door, — 
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber-door — 
That it is, and nothing more." 

4. 

Presently my soul grew stronger : hesitating then no longer, 

" Sir," said I, " or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore; 

But the fact is, I was napping, and so gently you came rap- 
ping, 

And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber- 
door, 

That I scarce was sure I heard you" — here I opened wide the 
door, — 

Darkness there, and nothing more. 



88 SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 

5. 

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wonder- 
ing, fearing, 

Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream, 
before ; 

But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token, 

And the only word there spoken was the whispered word 
" Lenore!" 

This / whisper'd, and an echo murmured back the word, 
" Lenore!" 

Merely this, and nothing more. 

6. 
Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burn- 
ing, 
Soon again I heard a tapping, someting louder than before. 
" Surely," said I, " surely that is something at my window- 
lattice ; 
Let me see then what thereat is, and this mystery explore, — 
Let my heart be still a moment, and this mystery explore ; — 
'Tis the wind, and nothing more." 

7. 

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and 
flutter, 

In there stepped a stately raven of the stately days of yore. 

Not the least obeisance made he ; not a minute stopp'd or 
stay'd he ; 

But, with mien of lord or lady, perch'd above my chamber- 
door, — 

Perch'd upon a bust of Pallas, just above my chamber-door— 
Perch'd, and sat, and nothing more. 



Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling, 
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore, 



SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 89 

" Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, " art 

sure no craven ; 
Ghastly, grim, and ancient raven, wandering from the nightly 

shore, 
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian 

shore ?" 

Quoth the raven, " Nevermore !" 

9. 

Much I marveled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so 
plainly, 

Though its answer little meaning— little relevancy bore ; 

For we can not help agreeing that no living human being 

Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber- 
door — 

Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber- 
door, 

With such name as "Nevermore!" 

10. 

But the raven sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only 

That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour. 

Nothing farther then he utter'd — not a feather then he 
flutter'd— 

Till I scarcely more than mutter'd, " Other friends have flown 
before — 

On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown be- 
fore." 

Then the bird said, " Nevermore!" 

11. 

Startled at the stillness, broken by reply so aptly spoken, 

"Doubtless," said I, "what it utters is its only stock and 
store, 

Caught from some unhappy master, whom unmerciful disas- 
ter 

Follow'd fast and follow'd faster, till his songs one burden 
bore, — 

Till the dirges of his hope that melancholy burden bore, 
Of — " Never — nevermore !" 



90 SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 

12. 

But the raven still beguiling all my sad soul into smiling, 
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust, 

and door, 
Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking 
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore — 
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird 

of yore 

Meant in croaking " Nevermore !'' 

13. 

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing 
To the fowl, whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's 

core; 
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining 
On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated 

o'er, 
But whose velvet violet lining, with the lamp-light gloating 

o'er, 

Bfie shall press — ah ! nevermore ! 

14. 

Then methought the air grew denser, perfumed from an un- 
seen censer 

Swung by seraphim, whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted 
floor. 

" Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee— by these angels 
he hath sent thee 

Respite — respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore ! 

Quaff, oh, quaff this kind nepenthe, and forget this lost 
Lenore!" 

Quoth the raven, " Nevermore!" 

15. 

" Prophet !" said I, "thing of evil! — prophet still, if bird or 

devil ! 
Whether tempter sent, or whether tempest toss'd thee here 

ashore. 



SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 91 

Desolate, yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted — 
On this home by Horror haunted — tell me truly, I implore — 
Is there — is there balm in Grilead? — tell me — tell me, I im- 
plore!" 

Quoth the raven, " Nevermore!" 

16. 

"Prophet! " said I, ' 'thing of evil !— prophet still, if bird or 

devil! 
By that heaven that bends above us — by that Grod we both 

adore, 
Tell this soul, with sorrow laden, if, within the distant 

Aidenn, 
It shall clasp a sainted maiden, whom the angels name Lenore ; 
Clasp a rare and radient maiden, whom the angels name 

Lenore — 

Quoth the raven, ' ' Nevermore !" 

17. 

"Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend !" I shrieked, 

upstarting — 
" Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian 

shore ! 
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath 

spoken ! 
Leave my loneliness unbroken! — quit the bust above my 

door! 
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from 

off my door!" 

Quoth the raven, " Nevermore!" 

18. 

And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting 

On the pallid bust of Pallas, just above my chamber-door; 

And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dream- 
ing, 

And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on 
the floor; 



92 SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 

And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the 
floor 

Shall be lifted— Nevermore ! 

Edgar A. Poe. 

THE BELLS. 

Hear the sledges with the bells — 
Silver bells — 
What a world or merriment their melody foretells! 
How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, 

In the icy air of night ! 
While the stars that oversprinkle 
All the heavens, seem to twinkle 

With a crystalline delight ; 
Keeping time, time, time, 
In a sort of Runic rhyme, 
To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells 
From the bells, bells, bells, bells, 
Bells, bells, bells — 
From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells. 

2. 

Hear the mellow wedding-bells, 
Grolden bells ! 
What a world of happiness their harmony foretells ! 
Through the balmy air of night 
How they ring out their delight ! 
From the molten-golden notes, 

And all in tune, 
What a liquid ditty floats 
To the turtle-dove that listens, while she gloats 
On the moon ! 
Oh, from out the sounding cells, 
What a gush of euphony voluminously wells! 
How it swells ! 
How it dwells 
On the Future ! how it tells 
Of the rapture that impels 



SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 93 

To the swinging and the ringing 

Of the bells, bells, bells— 
Of the bells, bells, bells, bells, 
Bells, bells, bells — 
To the rhyming and the chiming of the bells ! 



Hear the loud alarum bells — 
Brazen bells ! 
What a tale of terror, now, their turbulency tells ! 
In the startled ear of night 
How they scream out their affright! 
Too much horrified to speak, 
They can only shriek, shriek, 
Out of tune, 
In a clamorous appealing to the mercy of the fire, 
In a mad expostulation with the deaf and frantic fire 
Leaping higher, higher, higher, 
With a desperate desire 
And a resolute endeavor, 
Now — now to sit or never, 
By the side of the pale-faced moon. 
Oh, the bells, bells, bells! 
What a tale their terror tells 
Of despair! 
How they clang, and clash, and roar! 
What a horror they outpour 
On the bosom of the palpitating air! 
Yet the air, it fully knows, 
By the twanging 
And the clanging, 
How the danger ebbs and flows ; 
Tet the ear distinctly tells 
In the jangling 
And the wrangling, 
How the danger sinks and swells, 
By the sinking or the swelling in the anger of the bells- 
Of the bells— 



94 SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 

Of the bells, bells, bells, bells, 
Bells, bells, bells — 
In the clamor and the clangor of the bells ! 

4. 
Hear the tolling of the bells — 
Iron bells! 
What a world of solemn thought their monody compels ! 
In the silence of the night, 
How we shiver with affright 
At the melancholy menace of their tone! 
For every sound that floats 
From the rust within their throats 

Is a groan. 
And the people — ah, the people — 
They that dwell up in the steeple, 

All alone, 
And who tolling, tolling, tolling, 

In that muffled monotone, 
Feel a glory in so rolling 

On the human heart a stone — 
They are neither man nor woman — 
They are neither brute nor human — 

They are Grhouls: 
And their king it is who tolls ; 
And he rolls, rolls, rolls, rolls, 

A p«an from the bells ! 
And his merry bosom swells 

With the psean of the bells ! 
And he dances and he yells ; 
Keeping time, time, time, 
In a sort of Runic rhyme, 
To the psean of the bells — 
Of the bells: 
Keeping time, time, time, 
In a sort of Runic rhyme, 

To the throbbing of the bells — 
Of the bells, bells, bells, 

To the sobbing of the bells ; 



SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 95 

Keeping time, time, time, 

As he knells, knells, knells, 
In a happy Runic rhyme, 

To the rolling of the bells — 
Of the bells, bells, bells— 
To the tolling of the bells, 
Of the bells, bells, bells, bells, 
Bells, bells, bells— 
To the moaning and the groaning of the bells. 

Edgar A. Pob. 

The preceding pieces — " Sheridan's Ride," " The 
Raven," and " The Bells," are the three most popular in 
our language, either for private exercise or public decla- 
mation. Indeed, any one wiio can speak them well will 
have little difficulty with ordinary compositions. 

CHRISTMAS. 

Rrxa out, wild bells, to the wild sky, 

The flying cloud, the frosty light, 

The year is dying with the night ; 
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die. 

Ring out the old, ring in the new, 
Ring happy bells across the snow; 
The year is going, let it go ; 

Ring out the false, ring in the true. 

Ring out the grief that saps the mind, 
For those that here we see no more ; 
Ring out the feud of rich and poor, 

Ring in redress for all mankind. 

Ring out a slowly, dying cause, 
And ancient forms of petty strife ; 
Ring in the nobler modes of life, 

With sweeter manners, purer laws. 



96 SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 

Ring out the want, the woe, the sin, 
The faithless coldness of the times ; 
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes, 

But ring the fuller minstrel in. 

Ring out false pride in place and blood, 

The civic slander and the spite; 

Ring in the love of truth and right, 
Ring in the common love of good. 

Ring out old shapes of foul disease, 
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold; 
Ring out the thousand woes of old, 

Ring in the thousand years of peace. 

Ring in the valiant man and free, 
The larger heart, the kindlier hand ; 
Ring out the darkness of the land, 

Ring in the Christ that is to be. 

Tennyson. 

the tomahawk submissive to eloquence. 

1, Twenty tomahawks were raised; twenty arrows drawn 
to their head. Yet stood Harold stern and collected, at 
bay — parleying only with his sword. He waved his arm. 
Smitten with a sense of their cow'ardice, perhaps, or by 
his great dignity, more awful for his very youth, their 
weapons dropped, and their countenances were uplifted 
upon him, less in hatred than in wonder. 

2. The old men gathered about him : he leaned upon 
his saber. Their eyes shone with admiration : such heroic 
deportment, in one so young — a boy ! so intrepid ! so 
prompt ! so graceful ! so eloquent, too ! — f or, knowing the 
effect of eloquence, and feeling the loftiness of his own 
nature, the innocence of his own heart, the character of 
the Indians for hospitality, and their veneration for his 



SELECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 97 

blood, Harold dealt out tlie thunder of his strength to 
these rude barbarians of the wilderness, till they, young 
and old, gathering nearer and nearer in their devotion, 
threw down their weapons at his feet, and formed a ram- 
part of locked arms and hearts about him, through which 
his eloquence thrilled and lightened like electricity. The 
old greeted him with a lofty step, as the patriarch wel- 
comes his boy from the triumph of far-off battle ; and 
the young clave to him and clung to him, and shouted 
in their self-abandonment, like brothers round a conquer- 
ing brother. 

3. " Warriors !" he said, " Brethren !" — (their toma- 
hawks were brandished simultaneously, at the sound of 
his terrible voice, as if preparing for the onset). His 
tones grew deeper, and less threatening. " Brothers ! let 
us talk together of Logan! Ye who have known him, 
ye aged men ! bear ye testimony to the deeds of his 
strength. Who was like him ? Who could resist him ? 
Who may abide the hurricane in its volley % Who may 
withstand the winds that uproot the great trees of the 
mountain % Let him be the foe of Logan. Thrice in one 
day hath he given battle. Thrice in one day hath he 
come back victorious. Who may bear up against the 
strong man — the man of war ? Let them that are young, 
hear me. Let them follow the course of Logan. He goes 
in clouds and whirlwind — in the fire and in the smoke. 
Let them follow him. Warriors ! Logan was the father 
of Harold !" They fell back in astonishment, but they 
believed him ; for Harold's word was unquestioned, un- 
doubted evidence, to them that knew him. Neal. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



RULES OF ORDER. 



All persons who participate in public meetings or de- 
bating societies, should make themselves acquainted with 
the established methods for conducting them. Without a 
strict adherence to certain recognized rules, it is impos- 
sible to avoid confusion and unprofitable wordy contro- 
versy. Kef erring the reader who desires to to be familiar 
with parliamentary usages in all their applications to 
" Cushing's Manual," " The American Debater," " The 
Normal Debater," and similar works, the chapter on this 
subject will be limited to the necessary rules for manag- 
ing ordinary Lyceums and debating clubs; and as the 
Lyceum department of the Hygeio-Therapeutic College 
has been in existence for more than twenty years, and 
has simplified its organization to a good, if not the best, 
working condition, its constitution and by-laws will be 
presented as a chart or guide for others. This Lyceum 
has also an uncommon, if not peculiar, feature, which I 
would strongly commend to all Lyceums whose members 
are not accomplished speakers. It devotes one whole 
evening to the discussion of a question agreed on, and 
another evening to criticisms, readings, essays, and decla- 
mations, and so alternately. But, whether this last-named 
feature is adopted or not; its constitution and by-laws are 
equally applicable. 
(98) 



MEETINGS. 99 



CONSTITUTION. 

ARTICLE 1. NAME. 

This Association shall be entitled, The Hygeio-Thera- 
peutic College Lyceum. 

ARTICLE 2. OBJECTS. 

The objects of this Lyceum are, the mutual improve- 
ment of its members, and the investigation, in the spirit 
of candor and truth-seeking, of all problems that concern 
the welfare of human beings. 

ARTICLE 3. MEMBERSHIP. 

Any person may become a member of this Lyceum, on 
receiving the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the mem- 
bers present at any regular meeting, and signing this Con- 
stitution. 

ARTICLE 4. EXPULSION. 

Any member of this Lyceum may be expelled for 
grossly improper conduct, by a vote of two-thirds of the 
members present at any regular meeting. 

ARTICLE 5. OFFICERS. 

The officers of this Lyceum shall consist of a President, 
Secretary, and Treasurer, who shall exercise their respect- 
ive duties for one week, and until others are chosen to 
succeed them.* 

ARTICLE 6. AMENDMENTS. 

This Constitution may be amended at any time by a 
vote of two-thirds of the members present at any regular 

* A Corresponding Secretary should be elected when the proceed- 
ings of the Society require letter writing and the circulation of docu- 
ments. 



100 MEETINGS. 

meeting, provided that notice lias been given of the 
proposed amendment a^t a preceding regular meeting. 



BY-LAWS. 

1. MEETINGS. 

The Lyceum shall meet in the Lecture Hall of the 
Hygeio-Therapeutic College, on Monday and Wedsesday 
evenings, at seven o'clock, and adjourn at nine o'clock. 

2. QUORUM. 

Five members shall constitute a quorum for the trans- 
action of business. Any number of members less than a 
quorum may adjourn to the time of the next regular 
meeting. 

3. ORDER OF BUSINESS. 

The order of business on Monday evenings shall be : 
a. Heading, correction, and adoption of the minutes. 
ft. Reception of new members. 

c. Discussion of the question. 

d. Adjournment. 

On "Wednesday evenings the order of business shall be : 
a. Reception of new members. 
ft. Report of the critic. 

c. Criticisms of the critic. 

d. Readings, essays, and declamations. 

e. Selection of question for debate. 

f. Appointments. 

g. Unfinished business. 
h. New business. 

i. Adjournment. 



MEETINGS. 101 

4. DUTIES OF OFFICERS. 

The President shall occupy tlft chair, maintain the 
order of proceedings, decide all questions of parliamentary 
usage subject to appeal to the house, appoint all com- 
mittees, critics, and leading disputants not otherwise pro- 
vided for, give the casting vote in cases of a tie, and have 
charge of the books and papers of the Lyceum. The 
Secretary shall record its proceedings at each meeting, 
and report the same to the meetings on Monday evenings. 
The Treasurer shall have charge of the moneys and prop- 
erties of the Lyceum. 

5. APPOINTEES. 

On each Wednesday evening a critic, reader, essayist, 
and declaimer shall be appointed for the ensuing Wednes- 
day evening, and two leading disputants for the discus- 
sion on the ensuing Monday evening.* 

6. SELECTION OF QUESTION. 

The subject for debate shall be selected by a majority 
vote. Any member may propose, orally or in writing, a 
question or resolution for discussion. 

7. CRITICISMS. 

It shall be the duty of the critic to notice all errors in 
manner, gesture, pronunciation, and grammar, of the 
preceding meetings, and report the same. After the re- 
port of the critic is made, it shall be the privilege of any 
member to criticise the criticisms of the critic. 

* When a Lyceum (as in this case) is composed of ladies and gentle- 
men, it is proper, when practicable, to appoint a lady to open the debate 
on one side, and a gentleman on the other. 

Committees of more than tme should be composed of both sexes. 



102 MEETINGS. 

8. LIMITATION OF SPEAKERS. 

The leading disputants shall each be entitled to ten 
minutes to open, and five minutes to close the debate. 
All other speakers shall be limited to five minutes. The 
Lyceum may, at any time, by majority vote, extend the 
time of any speaker, but not exceeding five minutes. 

9. ORDER OF DEBATE. 

The affirmative and negative shall be represented al- 
ternately from the commencement to the close of the 
discussion. After the leading disputants have opened the 
debate, the members shall proceed with the discussion 
pro and con, in the order of their names on the book of 
the Secretary, unless one declines speaking, when the next 
in order shall be called. If no one offers to controvert 
the last speaker, another speech on the same side is in 
order. When all the members who desire to speak have 
been called, voluntary speakers, pro and con, may be 
jailed for ; and if more than one rises to speak, the Presi- 
dent shall decide, without appeal or debate, who is en- 
titled to the floor. Eo one shall be permitted to speak 
twice until all have spoken who desire to do so, unless by 
unanimous consent. 

POINTS OF ORDER. 

All points of order, on being distinctly stated, shall be 
decided without debate. If the decision of the President 
is appealed from, the motion, " Shall the decision of the 
Chair be sustained if" shall be put and decided by a 
majority vote. 

11. MANNER OF VOTING. 

Voting may be done by ayes and noes, or by raising 
the hand, as the Chair shall determine. When the vote 



MEETINGS. 103 

is doubtful or disputed, any member may call for a divi- 
siou of the house, when the vote shall be taken by rising 
or the uplifted hand, the President directing the Secretary 
to count the ayes and noes. 

12. SUSPENSIONS. 

Any by-law may be suspended for the evening by a 
vote of two-thirds of the members present ; or it may be 
suspended indefinitely by unanimous consent. 

13. AMENDMENTS. 

These by-laws may be amended at any regular meeting 
of the Lyceum by a vote of two-thirds of the members 
present ; or by a majority vote after one week's notice 
has been given. 

PARLIAMENTARY USAGES. 

1. Motions. — ~No motion can be entertained until 
seconded. When a motion is made and seconded, the 
President should rise, state the question fully and clearly, 
and ask if the house is ready for the question. If no one 
offers to speak, the motion should be put to vote, the re- 
sult announced, and the Secretary directed to record it. 

2. Motions to Reconsider. — A motion to reconsider 
cannot be entertained unless made and seconded by per- 
sons who voted with the majority, except in the case of 
an equal division, when it must be made by one who 
voted in the negative. ~No motion to reconsider is in 
order after the proposition or action has passed out of the 
possession of the house, or recorded and approved in the 
minutes. 

3. Motions to Expunge. — Motions to expunge or 
rescind any resolution or vote of the house, require 
unanimous consent. 



104 MEETINGS. 

4. Motions not Debatable. — The previous or main 
question, points of order, motions to reconsider, to ad- 
journ, and to lie on the table, are not debatable ; nor are 
appeals from the decision of the Chair. But when two 
or more members make an appeal, the President may- 
give his reasons for the decision, and the question may 
then be debated. In case of a tie vote, the President 
may give the casting vote in favor of his decision. 

5. The Previous Question. — The previous question 
shall not be entertained unless the motion is seconded by 
three members. If the question is decided affirmatively, 
and amendments are pending, the vote should be taken 
first on the amendments in order, and then on the main 
question. All incidental questions arising after the pre- 
vious question has been moved, must be decided without 
debate. When the previous question has been moved 
and seconded, it cannot be withdrawn without the consent 
of a majority ; nor can it be suspended by any motion 
except that to adjourn. 

6. Amendments. — An amendment to a pending motion 
is always in order ; and so is an amendment to an amend- 
ment ; but an amendment to an amendment cannot be 
amended. After the discussion the vote is to be taken 
first on the amendment to the amendment, then on the 
amendment, and lastly on the main question. 

7. Privileged Questions. — Privileged questions are 
those which take precedence of the business regularly 
before the house. They are : 

(a,) To adjourn. 

(b.) For the previous question. 

(p.) For postponement. 

(d.) For commitment. 

(e.) For amendment. 



MEETINGS. 105 

(f.) To lie on the table. 

A motion for postponement precludes commitment, 
and a motion for commitment precludes amendment. 

8. Personalities. — The President may speak in his 
place to matters of order, or state facts which the mem- 
bers have occasion for. "When he rises to speak the 
member occupying the floor should resume his seat. 
When a member is speaking, no conversation nor whis- 
pering should be indulged in, nor should any one pass 
between the speaker and the presiding officer. The 
decision of the President should always be submitted to 
quietly unless appealed from. A member decided to be 
out of order loses his right to the floor, without the 
unanimous consent of the house. !No member when 
speaking should be interrupted, except by a call to order, 
or a proffer to explain. Members in debate should not 
refer to the other by name, but as the member who pre- 
ceded me, last up, on the right, on the left, who opened 
the debate, etc. IsTo member can be allowed to read an 
argument, or a paper pertaining to the discussion without 
unanimous consent. ~No member can address the house 
while sitting without unanimous consent. Any member 
rising to speak should address the President, and not pro- 
ceed to speak until the President recognizes his right to 
the floor by announcing his name. When two or more 
members arise to speak at the same time, the President 
shall decide who is entitled to the floor by announcing 
his name, or designating him in some other manner. The 
motives of members are never to be questioned. 

9. Appeals. — Any member may appeal from any 
decision of the Chair ; but the member appealing must 
reduce his appeal to writing, and hand it to the Secretary. 
The President shall then state the question, and call for 



106 MEETINGS. 

a vote on the question, " Shall the decision of the Chair 
be sustained 1 " 

10. ^Explanations. — E"o explanation can be made while 
a member is speaking without the consent of the speaker ; 
but if the speaker yields the floor for an explanation, he 
cannot resume it again without unanimous consent. 
Members who obtain leave to explain must confine their 
remarks to the matters to be explained. 

Committees. — In legislative bodies, committees are of 
two kinds, select or special, and standing or permanent. 
In Lyceums all committees are of the former kind. Their 
duties are to consider any ^ subject or proposition referred 
to them, and report the same to the next meeting, or at 
any time designated. They may report in fall or ask to 
be discharged, or report progress and ask leave to be con- 
tinued. Their report may be considered and disposed of 
as a whole, or in sections or parts, when the subject is 
susceptible of such division. In the latter case each sec- 
tion may be approved, rejected, or amended, and then the 
final vote taken, whether it shall be adopted or rejected 
as a whole. The first person named on a committee of 
several usually acts as chairman. 

11. Postponements. — These may be for the time, or 
indefinitely. When different times are mentioned the 
question should be taken on the most distant time first. 
The motion to postpone indefinitely cannot be amended, 
nor superseded by any other motion; but if decided 
negatively, a motion to amend or commit will be in 
order. 

12. Adjournment. — A motion to adjourn is not in order 
when a member is speaking, nor when a vote is being 
taken on any question. When a motion to adjourn has 
been negatived, it cannot be renewed until some other 



MEETINGS. 107 

proposition has been presented, or business of some kind 
transacted. A motion to adjourn cannot be amended by 
adding to it a definite time or place ; this must be pre- 
viously decided on its own merits. A motion to adjourn 
to a particular time and place is debatable so far as the 
time and place are concerned. "When desiring to sus- 
pend business temporarily, an adjournment for the time 
is in order, after which the business may be resumed on 
a simple motion to do so. When an adjournment has 
been voted during the consideration of any question, that 
question will be first put in order among the unfinished 
business, but not the first business in order at the next 
meeting. 



CHAPTEE IX. 



DEBATABLE SUBJECTS. 



The following questions are submitted for emergen vies 
— when for want of time or for some other reason, the 
Lyceum is unable to agree on any question presented by 
the members. 

Can a law of nature be suspended ? 

Ought the elective franchise to be extended to woman ? 

Are the sexes equal in mentality ? 

Is the female organization naturally more frail than that 
of the male ? 

Should public libraries be opened on Sunday ? 

Are schools or churches the greater benefit to society % 

Is there more pleasure in pursuit than in possession % 

Should immigration to this country be restricted ? 

Should eight hours be recognized as a legal day's work ? 

Resolved, that the veto power of the President be 
repealed. 

Resolved, that all punishment should be limited to the 
reformation of the criminal. 

Resolved, that capital punishment should be abolished. 

Resolved, that all laws relating to interest on money 
should be repealed. 
(108) 



DEBATABLE SUBJECTS. ' 109 

Resolved, that interest on money should be limited to 
the profits of productive industry. 

Resolved, that all laws for the collection of debts 
should be repealed. 

Resolved, that the rate of taxation should have refer- 
ence to the property of the person taxed. 

Resolved, that we suffer more from imaginary than 
from real evils. 

Has the human race descended from a single pair ? 

Resolved, that conscience is an infallible rule for action. 

Is the medical profession more useful than injurious ? 

Should national holidays be abolished ? 

Should the sexes be educated in the same schools % 

Does geology harmonize with the Bible ? 

Should education be compulsory % 

Is woman physiologically the " weaker vessel ? " 

Does civilization progress more rapidly than the 
churches % 

Is the theory of Darwin, as to the " descent of man," 
sustained by scientific data ? 

Is the doctrine of " Evolution " taught in the Bible % 

Should white and colored children attend the same 
school % 

Should society permit the existence of dram-shops? 

Are alcoholic drinks a greater evil than tobacco ? 

Is the dietetic character of man frugivorous % 

Is common salt useful as a condiment % 

Should the property of churches be taxed ? 

Do labor-saving inventions benefit the laboring classes \ 

Are trades-unions justifiable ? 

Do great crises produce great men ? 

Ought old bachelors to be subject to civil disabilities ? 

Should monopolies in trade be allowed ? 



110 DEBATABLE SUBJECTS. 

Ought ministers of the G-ospel to engage in party 
politics ? 

Ought there to be a law of international copyright ? 

Is universal suffrage expedient % 

Can the immortality of the soul be proved from the 
light of nature % 

Do riches develop character better than poverty ? 

Is Roman Catholicism compatible with free institutions ? 

Ought imprisonment for debt to be abolished ? 

Is infidelity on the increase ? 

Is Phrenology a true science ? 

Is the assassination of tyrants justifiable % 

Ought lotteries to be tolerated ? 

Are religious fairs justifiable % 

Are ghosts the spirits of the departed ? 

Is youth a more happy period of life than old age ? 

Do preachers exercise a greater influence on the char- 
acter of the young than teachers ? 

Are lawyers more beneficial than injurious to society % 

Are women more revengeful than men ? 

Ought persons to marry who differ radically in religious 
opinions V 

Are " all men created equal % " 

Is the doctrine of original sin taught in the Bible ? 

Is morality separable from religion % 

Does morality improve as civilization advances ? 

Is a Republic the best form of government ? 

Is the character of a nation affected by its climate ? 

Ought witnesses to be held as prisoners % 

Is a declaration of war ever justifiable ? 

^Resolved, that Satan is the hero of " Paradise Lost." 

Is there such a quality as disinterestedness. 

Ought patent-rights to be granted ? 



DEBATABLE SUBJECTS. Ill 

Does wealth exert more influence than knowledge ? 

Are banks more beneficial' than injurious to a com- 
munity ? 

Is there any real danger of over-population % 

Are national celebrations beneficial % 

Are persons accountable for their opinions \ 

Is man a free agent % 

Are tea and coffee, as beverages, injurious ? 
_ Is it hygienic to drink at meals ? 

Is there more happiness than misery in human life % 

Should the Bible be introduced into the common 
schools ? • 

Is a falsehood ever justifiable ? 

Is the doctrine of non-resistance sound ? 

^Resolved, that differences of character are attributable 
more to physical than to moral causes. 

Is the slanderer a more pernicious character than the 
flatterer ? 

Do the phenomena of nature indicate polytheism ? 

Are ideas innate ? 

Ought emulation in schools to be encouraged % 

Is corporeal punishment in schools justifiable % 

Is rotation in office a correct principle ? 

Is it ever right to marry for money ? 

Is it expedient to wear mourning apparel? 

Are graveyards expedients 

Would the practice of cremation be beneficial ? 

Is the miser more selfish than the profligate ? 

Ought one ever to advocate what he believes to be false? 

Does proselytism favor the cause of truth ? 

Is the drunkard accountable for his conduct while 
drunk % 

Do the Scriptures predict a millenium % 



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NEW YORK: 
S.-R. WELLS & COMPANY 

7 3 7 BROADWAY. 

1876. 




Oratory— Sacred and Secular; 

Or, the Extemporaneous Speaker. Including a Chairman's 
Guide. By Rev. Wm. Pittenger, with an Introduction hy Hon. John A. 
Bingham. A clear and succinct Exposition of the Rules and Methods 01 
practice by which Readiness in the Expression of Thought may be ac- 
quired, and an acceptable style, both in composition and gesture. One 
handsome l2mo vol. of 220 pages, tinted paper, post-paid, $1.50. 

To give the reader a more complete view of the matter in this excellent 
work — the best of its class — we condense the following from the 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Preface. Objects of the "Work stated. 
Introduction. By Hon. John A. 
Bingham, Member of Congress. 

Part I.— The Written and Ex- 
tempore Discourse Compared — Illus- 
trative Examples. Prerequisites — 
Intellectual Competency ; Strength of 
JBody; Command of Language ; Cour- 
age.; Firmness ; Self-reliance. Basis of 
Speech— Thought and Emotion ; Heart 
Cultivation, Earnestness. Acquire- 
ments— General Knowledge ; of Bible ; 
of Theology ; of Men ; Method by Which 
such Knowledge may be obtained. Cul- 
tivation — Imagination ; Language ; 
Voice; Gesture, how acquired; Distin- 
guished Orators and Writers. 

Part 1 1 .—A Sermon. The" Foun- 
dation for a Preacher— Subject : Ob- 
ject ; Text ; Hints to Young Preachers. 
The Plan — Gathering Thought; Ar- 
ranging Committing ; Practical Sugges- 
tions; Use of Notes. Preliminaries 
for Preaching — Fear ; "Vigor ; Open- 
ing Exercises ; Requisites for a Success- 
ful Discourse, The DmsioNs--IntiXH 



duction, Difficulties in Opening ; Discus- 
sion, Simplicity and Directness. After 
Considerations— Success ; Rest ; Im- 
provement; Practical Suggestions. 

Part III.— Secular Oratory. In- 
structive Address— Fields of Oratory ; 
Oral Teaching ; Lecturing. Miscellan- 
eous Address — Deliberative; Legal; 
Popular ; Controversial ; the Statesman ; 
the Lawyer ; the Lecturer ; the Orator. 

I^a r t I V . -* Eminent Speakers 
Described — St. AugU3tin ; Luther ; - 
Lord Chatham ; William Pitt ; Edmund 
Burke; Mirabeau; Patrick Efenry; 
Whitcfield; Wesley; Sidney Smith; F. 
W. Robertson ; day ; Bascom ; Summer- 
field ; Spurgeorf ; Beecher ; Anna E. Dic- 
kinson ; John A Bingham ; W. E. Glad- 
stone ; Ma the w Simpson ; Wendell Phil- 
lips; John P. Durbin; Newman Hall, 
and others. : 

Appendix. — The Chairman's 
Guide. How to Organise and Cow- 
duct Public Meetings and Debating 
Clubs, in a pariimentary manner. 



While other authors have tended to excessive elaboration, the writer 
of this work -has striven to condense as much as possible, and present the 
subject as succinctly as clearness of statement will permit. He brings to 
his work a mind matured by years of experience in the very field of which 
he treats. He is also known in the literary- world, as the author of 
" Daring and Suffering. The book is published in first-class style;* well 
and clearly printed, and handsomely bound. A capital work for Agents. 

Address, S. R. WELLS & CO., 737 Broadway, New York. 




THE 



PHRENOLOGICAL JOURNAL 

AND 

Life Jl lust j\a ted, is 
A FIRST CLASS IIOKTHLV. 



Specially Devoted to the " Science of Man." Contains Phrenology 
and Physiognomy, with all the " Signs of Character., and how to read 
them;" Ethnology, or the Natural History of Man in all his relations 
to Life ; Practical Articles on Physiology, Diet, Exercise and the 
Laws of Life and Health. Portraits, Sketches and Biographies of the 
leading Men and Women of the "World, are important features. 
Much general and uselul information on the leading topics of the day is 
given. It is intended to be the'most interesting and instructive Pictorial 
Family Magazine Published. Subscriptions may commence now. 

Few works will better repay perusal in the family than this rich storehouse of instruC' 
tlon and entertainment.— N. Y. Tribune. It grows in Variety and Value. Eve. Post. 



Terms.— A New Volume, the 62nd commences with the January Number. Pub- 
lished Monthly, in octavo form, at $3 "a year, in advance. Sample numbers sent by first 
post, 30 cents. Clubs of ten or more, $2 each per copy, and an extra copy to agent. 

We are now offering the most liberal oreminms ever given for clubs, for 1876. Inclose 
Bvtunpsfor list. Address, S. R. WELLS & CO., 737 Broadway, New York. 



The Science of Health 



Fills a place 
in the literature 
of health, occu- 
pied by no other 
publication. Its 
leading object is 
to teach the 
Fcience of Life; 
which includes 
all that relates 
to the Art of 
Recovering and 
Preserving 
Health, and pro- 
moting a higher 
physical and 
mental condi- 
tion Of a TKUE, 
symmetrical and 



Retain Your Health, -It is bet- 
ter and cheaper to preserve health by 
obeying the Laws of Life, than to regain 
it when lost. Avoid the Causes of Disease. 

Disease and Its Treatment. 

— The true theory of disease will be con- 
sidered, and methods of treatment given. 

H o u sen old Department.— 

We shall publish a series of valuable articles 
on ''Healthful Cookery," writteu expressly 
for this Magazine, and there will be given 
an amount of information, popular and 
useful, worth the price of the Magazine. : 

Invalids should read The Science 
of Health regularly, and learn the nature 
of their diseases, and methods prescribed 
for Home-Treatment and Cure. 

" Doctors' Bills "s can easily be 
saved; enough to pay for ten times the sub- 
scription price every year, by simply fol- 
lowing its plain common-sense teachings. 

Published Monthly at $2.00 a year, 



robust MAN- 
HOOD. It will 
be the exponent 
of every known 
means by which 
health may be 
preserved, 
strength of body 
and of mind in- 
creased, and life 
prolonged. A 
know! edge of 
the laws which 
govern Life and 
Health is what 
the people want; 
and these The 
Science of 
Health pro- 
poses to teach. 



Health of Women .—it is a 

lamentable fact that many women in this 
country are in ill health. The wives and 
daughters of the land are suffering in one 
way or another, and, strange as it may seem, 
those who should be strongest— those in 
the country— suffer the most. This comes 
from a violation of ^the most simple Laws 
of Life and Health, which would meas- 
ureably have been avoided byf ollowing the 
teachings of The Science of Health. 

Teachers are Interested in 

The Science of Health. It will enable 
them to understand the Laws affecting the 
mental and physical condition of them- 
selves and their pupils, and make teaching 
a delight and not a drudgery. 
An Independent Journal — 

The Science of Health is an independ- 
ent, earnest teacher of the laws of life and 
health, published in the interests of the 
people, and not of any man's practice. 

post-paid. 20 cents a Number. Local 




Agents wanted. Send stamp for Terms and large Premium List. AddresS, 
S. R. WELLS & CO., Publishers, 737 Broadway, New Tor!; 



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